


I See Heroes

by ck90



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Billy is Not a Traitor but is a Player, Bodyguard Karen, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Frank is Frank, Have I Mentioned That This is AU?, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Inhumans (Marvel), Karen is a BAMF, Karen is a SHIELD Agent, Language!, SHIELD wasn't HYDRA'd, The Lieberman's Rock!, everyone has powers, kastleweek2k19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-07 12:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 75,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18410429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ck90/pseuds/ck90
Summary: Agents Karen Page and Crystalia Amaquelin get stuck babysitting two Marine officers who just blew the whistle on a clandestine CIA operation that was smuggling heroin into the US. It’s a boring assignment, but at least the Marines are cute. But nothing is mundane - or human - when it comes to The Blacksmith.





	1. Bad News and Worse News

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written ff in a while. Fell onto this ship and went down the rabbit hole with the amazing fanvids, fanart and posts on Tumblr which is how I ended up finding out about kastleweek2k19 last week. This was meant to be a quick 5K 'quick' fluffy Bodyguard!Karen fic and then plot showed up and then I remembered that Ben Barnes is cute and liked Friend!Billy. These Inhumans are not the Marvel's Inhumans other than in name. So yeah. It's not going to be short. The plan is 10 Chapters with an overindulgent Epilogue. More than half is already written, I just need to go over and Grammarly it. As always, big thanks for reading.

 

_Click. Click. Click._

Very Special Agent, Karen Page, Level 6, but off the books a Level 8, took a long sip of her second cortado in an hour and willed the caffeine to refuel her empty tanks. It had been a flat white, macchiato, cold brew, cold brew, latte, cortado times two type of day. It wasn’t a bad day, per se. At least it wasn’t the flat white, espresso, double espresso, triple espresso and keep it coming, chocolate covered espresso beans all day, “I said triple espresso!”, “That was a triple!”, “I need more coffee!”, “Behold, Black Insomnia,” and she didn’t sleep for the next 73-hours, type of day.

“You’re thinking about Black Insomnia, aren’t you?”

Karen glanced at the pretty - no, that was too small of a word, too nice - stunning, yeah, that was better, the stunning woman beside her. Special Agent Crystalia Amaquelin, also officially a Level 6 but in reality a Level 8, was out of this world. Literally.

“Never,” Karen’s eyes narrowed, “demon-spewing portal of a hell dimension or not, give me that again.” She shuddered. “I still get the jitters.”

“That was six months ago, you drama-llama.”

They looked at each other and smiled. Good times.

“Okay.” Karen brought the cortado to her mouth again, absently rubbing the ten-inch scar on her thigh. “Maybe only for demon-spewing portals.”

Talia snorted, kicking her size ten tactical boots onto the table and leaning so far back that Karen was sure she was going to tip backward, but didn’t, and clicked on the mouse nearest to her.

_Click. Click. Click._

Karen glanced at her own size tens on the other end of the table, it was why she knew Talia’s size. They’d worn each other shoes more times than she could count. It had doubled her shoe collection overnight. She now had Guccis and Louboutins, and Talia had Miu-Mius and Manolos. They'd ended up sharing a house for that reason alone. The fabulous shoes. Except they’ve been practically living in their tactical boots for the last month.

Karen bit off a sigh and ignored the various screens that surrounded them, focusing solely on the one in front of her. They were in a sub-sub-basement of one of S.T.A.K.E.’s subsidiary offices watching the world unfold in front of them. She swiped at the tablet on her lap, and the image changed.

_Click. Click. Click._

_Who names an organization STAKE anyway?_

“Stark.” Another image flashed in front of Karen. “Special Threat Assessment for Known Extranormalities. Howard Stark’s idea of a joke because he stumbled onto Vlad, himself.”

Talia turned to Karen. “Was I thinking too loud?”

“What? Oh.” Karen blinked and shook her head. “No. Sometimes we are just on the same vibe. Versus the times you purposely shout images of your latest conquest.”

“One of us has to have fun.”

_Click. Click. Cli—_

Talia pushed the mouse away and eyed the other tablet near Karen’s foot. In the blink of an eye, the tablet was in Talia’s hands. Karen was jealous of that little skill.

“Sorry. You should have said something.”

“I would have. Sooner rather than later.” She grabbed the coffee again, sipped, then extended the cup towards Talia. “Would you mind?”

Talia touched the cup. “Hot, scalding or volcano?”

“More than hot but not quite scalding.” In half a breath, the steam swirled up and out of the container. Karen brought it to her lips and savored the fiery jolt of caffeine. She looked at her coffee. “Is 32oz still considered a cup?”

Talia picked up her own vat of caffeine. “It is in my book.”

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

“We all have our lots in life,” Talia said. “Mine is to heat up your coffee and share my shoes.”

“They are really nice shoes.”

“They are, aren’t they?” They shared fond memories of their shoe collection. “What are we trying next?”

Karen worried her lip for one long breath, tapped on her tablet and then pointed at one of the screens now showing a variety of shoes. “Prada?”

“That’s so last year. How about stilettos?”

“You would need seven inches to be taller than Thor and four to go eye to eye with Rumlow. And the last time you went higher than three, you nearly broke your ankle.”

“I still think I can lift Mew-Mew, given half a chance.”

“Me-awl-nir.” Karen’s hands enunciated each syllable like a conductor. There was a wicked sparkle in Talia’s eyes. “You do that on purpose, don’t you?”

“Mew-Mew.”

Karen chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. It would only encourage the incorrigible woman. “And Rumlow? Reeaally?”

Talia’s eyes grew unfocused. Lost in a thought or a memory. Karen geared up for more salacious imagery to burst out of her partner. But none came.

“Talia?” Karen reached out of habit. She was a hugger. Always had been even as a child. A comforting touch. A gentle squeeze. Always tactile. It was part of her skill set. Who she was. In her nature to console and reassure. To soothe. Her fingers brushed against the bunched sleeve on Talia’s elbow.

The problem was that Karen’s power was dangerously out of kilter. She couldn’t control it or replicate the circumstances. It had happened under stress - her nails had dug into a meaty forearm of a hellspawn who grabbed her neck with the intention of separating it from her body - and in perfect calm - her hand had bumped against Mack’s when they were getting coffee.

It had happened six months ago when some idiot opened a hell-portal in Kandahar. And it had happened yesterday morning in New York. The hellspawn had dropped dead. As had any of its brethren that came into contact with her skin. Mack had only been knocked out cold. Luckily.

She got the hellspawn. It could've just been a surge of adrenalin. Fight or die. It wasn’t uncommon for some of the higher powered operatives to develop extra skills in the heat of a battle. But yesterday, there’d been no danger. She had just felt a sense of determination. Of right and wrong. Of honor and dishonor. Of exhaustion.

Weird.

Talia blinked and eyed the long fingers on her elbow. Karen flinched her hand back, but Talia grabbed it and put it on her bare forearm.

“Talia!” Karen tried to pull her hand back, but the other woman was having none of it and held on tight.

“We’re going to figure this out, Kare.”

Karen yanked her hand back. “I’m not taking any chances. Don’t do that again.” She couldn't control the fear in her voice. She couldn’t bear if something happened to her best friend or any of their team just because they touched her by accident. She couldn’t go through that terror again. The picture of a crumbling Mack would forever be forged into her memory.

She was not going through that again. Even if she never touched another friend for the rest of her life.

Karen grabbed the full-length gloves that had been discarded because of the ridiculous warmth of the sub-sub-basement. Shaking fingers buried themselves into the unique fabric that Simmons had initially designed for Daisy. It had been meant as a temporary fix, but had become a permanent fixture on her body after Kandahar. Except for yesterday morning. Except for now.

“You're lucky I didn’t put you in a coma. Or worse.” Her fists clenched to stem the shaking. She refused to look at Talia. The wave of sympathy and love hit her like a comforting blanket. For someone who tried to personify a chaotic neutral personality, Talia Amaquelin was too consistent when it came to the people closest to her. She’d go through hell and back for her teammates. And she’d risk death to comfort a friend that was slowly dying inside from being so touch-starved.

Gloved fingers covered her lips in an attempt to quelch a strangled sob. Her hand fisted against her mouth.

 _I_ _’m not lonely, Karen._

It was a fleeting thought. A will-o’-wisp. A hushed whisper from far away. So much emotion. So much left unspoken. But she heard it.

Again.

“Kare.”

Her whole body turned towards Talia. Blue eyes met green eyes like the old friends they were. Words were unnecessary. They’ve known each other for over five years. Worked together for over four and lived under the same roof for almost as long. A look was worth a thousand words. Talia grabbed a gloved hand and squeezed.

Yeah. They'd figure it out. But in the meantime, Karen wasn’t taking any chances. Gloves or not. She pulled her hand away.

“As for Rumlow,” Talia shrugged, “it’s complicated.”

Karen bit back a smile. Talia’s default distraction topic: Sex. “Complicated?”

“What can I say,” Talia turned her attention to one of the screens, tilted her head to the side, then moved on to the next screen, “I like living on the edge.”

Karen snorted. “That’s one hell of an edge.”

“I know right?” Talia rested the tablet on her lap and put her hands behind her head. “Sometimes I scare myself.”

Karen did not want to know the details. Of all of the dangerous men and women at SHIELD, Brock Rumlow was scary with a capital D for deadly. She was not going to ask. It was none of her business, and she didn't want to know the particulars that would make her blush anytime she was in the same room as that man.

Besides, Talia was a talker, and she’d spill it anyway. Any minute now. She tended to brag. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. It was almost charming. And one of them should have some fun. Especially now.

Except there was nothing but silence. Other than the low white noise hum of the computers. Talia was just looking at the screens in front of her.

Karen was not going to ask. Nope. Not gonna happen. She was just going to work. Her index finger tapped absently against her thigh.

_Goddammit._

Karen dropped the tablet on the table and turned to Talia. “Spill. Details. Say it now so I can school my reaction next time I see the man. Rather than just having you spring it on me before a meeting.” Karen counted to three. “Wipe that self-satisfied grin off your face or so help me I’ll tell Coulson it was you who scratched Lola.”

Talia laughed. “We can’t talk about Rumlow, we’d fail the Bechdel Test.”

“Do you even know that is?”

“Of course I do,” Talia said. “I’ve lived with your nerdgasm for five years. It was bound to rub off.”

“Well, we can’t talk about work.” Karen gestured at the screens. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“What is Fury trying to find here?” Talia tapped on her tablet, and the screens changed. “I get that this is the new hub for vigilantes, but there’s no way that he doesn’t know the identity of the Devil. And that private investigator sure isn’t hiding. Neither is that big smoking hot dude in Harlem.”

The screens showed pictures of Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and the glowing fist boy. But the images of the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen were all dark and blurry. Only fleeting captures by surveillance cameras. No way to tell anything other than his suit was red, and it had horns. Ha. What’s next? Yellow spandex and gold armor? But Fury was Fury and Karen wouldn't put it past him that he knew exactly who it was under those horns.

“Maybe he’s looking for Spider-Ham.”

Silence. Even the computers stopped humming.

“Spider. Ham.”

It was the tone. Karen always looked at Talia when she pulled out that tone. “You know, the man-child dressed in red and blue who always hams it up for CCTV then realizes he probably shouldn't and throws that spider gunk at it as if it would magically erase the feed.”

Talia bit her lip. “Spider. Ham.” She tasted the words slowly. “I’m totally putting it on the next report.” She pulled out her phone and typed into it.

“Hello? Is this thing on?” A curly blond-brownish haired man tapped on a screen. “Oh, there you are. Can you hear me now? Can you see me?” He looked down, and suddenly all of the screens now had a real close up his face on them. “Is that better?”

“Not really,” Talia said.

“You’re on all of our screens, Fitz.” Karen bit off a smile.

“Oh,” Leo Fitz looked down again. “Is that better?” The image panned out to show more of the lab, but now only covered four screens.

“Not re—”

“It’s fine, Fitz.” Karen glared at Talia. “What’s up?”

“I have good news,” he said.

Karen straightened. Fitz and Simmons had been working on what the hell was going on with Karen’s power. Simmons from a biochemist angle and Fitz from the ‘engineering can’t hurt’ angle.

“Not really,” a disembodied voice pointed out.

 _Oh._ Karen tried to hide her disappointment.

“Oh,” Fitz rubbed his head, “yeah.” He looked at Karen and deflated. “Sorry, Karen. It’s not about the—” he wiggled his hand, “sorry.”

Talia grabbed Karen’s hand and lifted it in a victory pose. “The gloves are totally working though. Not dead. Not even a little nap.”

Karen snatched her hand away.

“That’s great!”

“Fitz,” Karen said calmly, “What news?”

“Maybe it’s more bad news and worse news?” He looked at them worriedly.

“What’s the bad news, Fitz?” Karen had to wonder if it was bad news from Fitz’s perspective or hers. After all, what could possibly be worse than being stuck in a sub-sub-basement watching the world go by and not being able to touch another person because you’re afraid to kill them?

“Hi guys,” Jemma Simmons appeared on the screen and waved. “Don’t forget to bring some samples of that Hell’s Kitchen water.”

“We’re bringing it _in_ us,” Talia answered.

Jemma smiled, then her eyes widened. “NO! Don’t drink it! You don’t know what’s in it.”

Karen bit the inside of her cheek.

“Nice one Jem,” Fitz said.

“It sounded normal in my head.” Jemma’s face contorted in embarrassment. _Sorry_ , she mouthed.

“Why don’t you tell them Jemma?”

Simmons’ head snapped towards Fitz’s direction. “Noooo,” her head moved side to side until the last extended vowel. “He told you to do it.”

“But _why_ would he tell me to do it?”

Jemma thought for a moment. “Because you were the closest to the door.”

“Oh.”

Karen loved them. Would stand in front of any hex or curse for them, face a horde of demons or gaggle of ghouls for either one without hesitation. They were an integral part of their team. Invaluable. But sometimes they drove her bonkers.

“Fitz. Simmons. Spill it.”

They both jumped.

“They are afraid to tell you that you’re still on Fury’s Shit List.” Daisy Johnson came into view.

“Still?” Talia made a face.

“If you know,” Fitz said, turning to Daisy, “then why don’t you tell them?”

“Nooooo.” Daisy held up her hands and took a half-step backward.

“It was an accident.” Four heads turned at the same to look at Karen who shrugged. “It was.”

“The two of you were playing keep the Tesseract away from the Flerken.” Karen resented the lack of understating in Daisy’s tone. It hadn’t been ‘keep away’ as much as how many tentacles does a Flerken really have.

“And he swallowed it,” Fitz said. “Again.” It’s not like it was the first time that “cat” had swallowed something he probably shouldn’t have.

“And we’d just gotten it back!” That sounded like an accusation coming from Jemma. As if it had been their fault SHIELD has lost the Tesseract in the first place. Again. For the fifth time?

Karen turned to Talia, who’s head disappeared between her shoulders as she dipped lower in her chair. “He gave it back.”

“Hurled, Talia,” Daisy said. “Hurled is not the same as give.”

“On the Director’s desk,” Fitz said. “Again.”

“And on his chair. And the floor. And that rug Fury brought back from Istanbul.”

It hadn’t been pretty.

Daisy turned to Jemma. “I think he had to burn it.”

“The smell.” They all said at the same time.

Yeah. That had been surprising. In a toxic dump, even the hazmat suits had come out of the room looking green in the gill, sorta way. You could smell it down the hall.

“He…also returned…some other stuff.”

It was surprising how much stuff could fit into such a little body.

“Hurled, Karen,” Daisy said. “Hurled is not the same as returned.”

“I think that huge mass of goo was a Chitauri,” Jemma said. “Or what was left of one.”

“Jemma, that’s not possible. The Chi—”

Karen tuned out the arguing scientists. She knew they’d figure it out. Her problem that is. If anyone could, it would be them. She just hoped it wouldn’t be another six months. Or longer.

“We knew this, though,” Talia’s voice was low and conversational. “It’s why we’ve been banished to Purgatory.” She waved at the screens. “To contemplate our misdeeds.”

Right. Karen nodded. “If Fury was really angry, he’d send us back to San Francisco.” _Bad news and worse news._ “Fitz. Fitz! What’s the worse news?”

Fitz picked up a tablet and started typing. One of the screens went black, then two pictures came up, side by side. Two men in Marine officers uniform. It must have been their file portraits. More images came up. The same men, but this time in fatigues, sitting and standing, but always together.

“He’s hot,” Daisy said.

Jemma nodded. “It’s the classic bone structure. The visual cortex recognizes that near-perfect symmetry. Rather pretty actually.”

Karen wouldn’t call him pretty. Not by a long shot. Not with a nose that looked like it had been broken more times that he could possibly remember. Not pretty, but there was something striking about those dark eyes, even in a photograph, that felt like they could see right through her. She couldn’t stop staring.

 _You were never in any danger_ _…I wanted you to know that._

“Shh! Neither of you wanted to tell them so…shh. Perfect symmetry,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Are we assassinating United States Marine officers, now?”

Karen stiffened.

“What?” Fritz looked down at his notes, then back to Talia. “No. Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually.”

_This guy is a war hero._

Karen started to relax. It would be a shame - a crime against mother nature - to have to destroy such a fine specimen of the male species.

“No. Nononononono!”

It was the repetition that unraveled whatever connection that was trying to materialize into this reality. Karen blinked and looked at Talia, whose face was now buried in her hands. She made herself replay the conversation she’d tuned out because of those devastating eyes she was now purposely avoiding. Then it clicked. Her eyes widened.

“NO!”

“Yes.” There was sympathy from Jemma.

“Yeah. Sorry.” And Fitz.

“You’re on babysitting duty.” Not from Daisy. Not even a little bit.

 

 

 


	2. Honor, Justice and Death

 

_48 hours ago_

 

Captain Frank Castle, USMC,  released some of the tension ratcheting through his six foot plus, two hundred pound frame when the wheels touched down at Ramstein Air Base. It was a small relief. For five of the nearly seven and a half hour flight from Kabul to Germany, he’d been waiting for their plane to be blown out of the sky. His trigger finger twitching the whole time. Double cadence every time they hit turbulence. Now they were on the ground which was way better than in the air where he could do nothing if anything went wrong. And Germany was way ass better than Afghanistan.

It didn’t mean they were safe, though. He elbowed the snoring man sitting beside him. The asshole had slept the whole seven hours of the damn flight.

“We landed?” Captain William Russo, USMC, rubbed his eyes and stretched while the plane taxied. “Look at that, Franky Boy,” he leaned in close, “we didn’t get blown out of the sky.”

“We ain’t safe yet.”

“I only gave us a fifty-fifty chance of getting out of Kabul alive. The odds can only go up from here.”

They had safely landed in an American Air Force Base, but it didn’t mean they were out of the woods. Not when some of their brothers in arms were neck deep in smuggling heroin from Afghanistan to New York. They disembarked with military precision, watching the men and women around them, whether in uniform or not. A knife in the right place was just as lethal as a bullet. And the drug lord they planned on taking down wanted them dead by any means possible.

It was a game of cat and mouse, and they were the goddamned mice. The cat in this game was Blacksmith who had the upper hand. He knew who they were, the information and evidence they had and their travel itinerary. All they had was their military-trained skill-set and each other.

After a scuffle in Kandahar, they got lucky and got out of Kabul without incident. Now it was Germany and a whole new set of ways they could get killed.

They followed the pack of soldiers waiting to be processed. That was the thing about the military, sixty percent paperwork, thirty-nine percent waiting around, and one percent action.

“Castle. Russo.”

Frank and Bill looked at each and moved towards the E-5. They returned the sergeant’s salute.

“This way, sirs. I’ll be processing your return stateside.”

Bill gave him a look, _Do they think we_ _’re idiots?_

Apparently, they were playing the part since they allowed themselves to be separated from the main travel group. It took the E-5 an hour they could ill-afford to process them out of Ramstein and on their way to Frankfurt. The sergeant apologized for the delay, told them where to wait for a driver.

“We’re renting a car,” Bill told the man with a dark stain on his wrist cuff.

“No can do,” the ‘sergeant’ replied. “New regs. All officers are required to have a driver for airport transport.” The man picked up the desk phone and started to make a phone call.

Frank’s finger tapped against his leg in a steady cadence.

_Are they even trying?_   Was written all over Bill’s face.

_Yeah._ Frank’s jaw clenched.

In less than ten minutes, a spit-and-polish E-3 came up to them and saluted.

“Sirs! Captain Castle. Captain Russo. I’ll be your driver.”

He reached for Frank’s gear with a smile. Frank wanted to punch that smile right out of the punk’s face. “No.”

The E-3 blinked. That fake smile of his faltered just a tad. He nodded, looked at Russo who just stared back, then plastered that goddamn smile again. “This way, sirs.”

They followed the corporal out into the parking lot, past several cars, a bus and a van. Bill looked straight ahead following the corporal’s line of sight. Frank’s eyes kept darting to and fro for any sign of danger even if he already knew where it would be coming from.

“My apologies, sirs. The van designated for airport transfer didn’t start, and since other soldiers going to Frankfurt, the MTRV was deemed the best solution. Apologies ahead of time for the rough ride.” The corporal pointed to the drab olive truck parked away from the rest of the vehicles.

Bill glanced at Frank. Yeah. He had made the same assessment. Things were going to turn ugly and fast. As they neared it, a private came around the back of the truck and nodded to the corporal leading them, then banged three times on the side.

Showtime.

The back of the truck was open, and a large, sandy-haired man in an ill-fitted uniform stood at the opening. Frank gave him a once over, then tossed his gear at the man’s face. Nylon met skin with a flat thud.

Slow. Good. By the time the man’s reflexes knew what was happening, Frank was already inside the truck grabbing his duffel from the man’s loose grip. He set it down and caught Bill’s bag mid-air, walking both to the back of the truck. The seat he wanted, one that would allow him to face the opening and keep his back against the cab, was already taken.

“Move.” The corporal stared at him with smug defiance. Frank white-knuckled the nylon handles, preparing to start swinging them like clubs, but a private gave the corporal a swift kick, and the man relented, moving across to the other bench.

Frank set his gear between himself and the private and sat down, staring at the insolent corporal. He slid his gear further away from his body, crowding the private, never dropping his gaze from the corporal.

“Hey. How you doing?” Bill nodded to their traveling companions as he walked down the bed of the truck. He stopped in front of the insolent corporal. “Now, friend, you can choose to move,” Bill sent the man a toothy smile, “or I can just sit on your lap.” He winked. “I’m good with either.”

The corporal made room, shouldering the next man until everyone down the bench moved.

“Your loss.” Russo sat down and faced Frank.

They had been in a lot of tight spots over the near decade of serving together. It was part of the job, especially one in Force Recon. They had saved each other’s lives countless times in several foreign countries. It was second nature, now. Training, experience, and listening to their instincts became their way of life.

The thing about any operation is that the devil is in the details. Like hair touching a collar. Ill-fitting uniforms. A missed button on shabby fatigues. Non-military issue boots. No gear for men traveling to an airport. Details matter. Four in the truck bed and two up front, confident that they had the advantage. Two against six was doable. Easier in fact in close tight quarters, which is why Frank and Bill were deep into the back of the truck. Harder to escape, yes, but nothing would attack behind them. Escape wasn’t an option in this case. They’d be sitting ducks trying to make a run in an open area. And jumping out of a moving vehicle was exciting in Hollywood but utterly unrealistic in the real world. Speed, asphalt, and bones don’t play well with each other.

Bill’s gaze dropped with a slow purpose to Frank’s feet, then came back up again. There was a mad glint in his eye, visible even in the darkened interior. It was the only sign that he was ready - and eager - for what was about to happen. He winked at Frank, then tipped his cover over his eyes and propped back, preparing to nap.

Frank leaned forward, resting forearms on knees, eyes zeroing in on what Bill had seen. Tarps. Neatly folded tarps. Way too many for any transport vehicle destined for an airport. The attack wouldn’t happen on base. Way too many people. No, it would happen somewhere on the road. This crew had over an hour to plan where they would attack and dump bodies of two troublesome Marines.

What bothered him the most was the sloppiness of this planned attack. The whole thing lacked the Blacksmith’s laser-like precision. Did these men not _know_ he and Russo were special operators or did they just not care?

They stopped at the sentry post. Frank could hear the corporal’s fake joviality oozing out of every word spoken to the guard. Bill shifted his body just enough for Frank to see a glint of silver flash against his palm. Frank’s hand slid down to his ankle and palmed the .38-special resting there. The nice thing about traveling military transport is they didn't check for weapons. His other hand threaded through the nylon handles until his forearm could lift the whole bag like a shield.

Bill started to snore. The sonuvabitch dropped his head to his chest, mouth slightly open and drooled-snorted almost in cadence to every pothole the truck rolled over. The insolent corporal eyed him suspiciously, then looked at his compatriots then back to Bill. The private next to Frank fidgeted. First tapping his knee with hands that were too soft for any self-respecting Marine, then bouncing his feet.

_Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud._

It was the calm before the storm. Most people can’t handle the spike in adrenalin. That jolt of energy itched and burned demanding release. Waiting, when the body was demanding flight or fight, was almost impossible. Unless you train for it. Even then, most soldiers could only hold out for so long before something had to give.

The waiting never bothered Frank. It gave him a moment or an hour of absolute clarity. Where he almost imagined hearts beating and shifts in the air. Where he could see the enemy’s every move, every intent running through their minds before they ever acted.

The sound of the road shifted from rubber on asphalt to dirt and rock.

_One batch, two batch. Penny and dime._

The knife, intended for the thin bone of his temple, instead buried itself in the nylon bag Frank raised as a shield. The modified .38 slid under it and spewed a quick flash of custom bullets designed to do the maximum damage to soft tissue. The man was dead. He just didn’t know it yet. Frank kicked him into his compatriots.

One shot. One kill.

Three shots. Three kills.

All dead before they hit the truck deck.

Bill looked at their handiwork. His fingers still wrapped around the hilt of the knife buried deep in the occipital bone of the fake corporal.

Four kills.

“Why am I always the distraction?” There was a wet _slurp_  when he pulled the knife out. He cleaned the bloody blade on the dead man’s uniform.

“You’re the pretty one.” Frank reached down, grabbing the unfired 9mm from the sandy-haired man’s limp grip and handing it to Bill.

The truck slowed to crawl, then stopped. They looked at each other.

Bill smiled. “Meat shields.”

William Russo was Frank Castle’s best friend. It had started as a trio: Frank, Bill, and Curtis. Despite the latter being a goddamned squid who just happened to be a fine corpsman. Then Curtis ended up on the wrong end of an IED and got shipped home. Without Curtis’ cheerful personality keeping them away from the void, Frank and Bill became masters in dealing death.

Killing never bothered Frank. He didn’t enjoy it or seek it out, but he didn’t shy away from it either. It was a tool in his repertoire.

Bill, on the other hand, his best friend and the only family Frank left, enjoyed it a little too much. Frank accepted that _quirk_ in his friend’s personality without judgment. In war, there were always opportunities for sanctioned kills. And there was always another war just over the horizon.

Sometimes, however, Bill was just creepy as fuck. Meat fucking shields.

“Asshole,” Frank muttered under his breath but picked up one of the dead men. It was a good idea.

The back opened.

Bill, rather than using his own idea, just launched himself at the nearest man, knife at the ready. The insanity of the move was enough to catch both hitmen unaware for a split second, then chaos exploded. The body that Frank had been holding took three bullets center mass, but he was long past caring. Frank kicked the corpse out of the vehicle onto the man with the gun and used his .38. The two bodies landed on the ground with a wet squish. Frank jumped out of the truck.

Bill was on top of the other man. Knee pressing down on the fragile sternum, hand over the man’s mouth, blade pressing against the man’s throat.

“Shhhhh.” Bill smiled. “You’re friends are all dead. Now, if you want to live, you’re going to talk. Understand me? Do you want to live?”

The man nodded.

“You’re working for the Blacksmith?” Nod.

“Do you know the identity of the Blacksmith?” Shake. Bill pressed the knife harder against the skin, breaking it. The man screamed against Bill’s hand as a thin red line ran into a sweaty collar.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know anything other than this was a kill job,” the man said. “We got a call. We got your pictures and were told to wait in the truck and kill both of you after we left the base. That’s all I know. I swear. That’s all I know.”

“Who else is working with the Blacksmith? Colonel Bennett? Schoonover?”

“Man, I’m telling you. We just verify the tagged bodies. It was easy money. We move the merchandise. Plane A to plane B. There was an extra ten k if we took care of the both of you. That’s all I know, man. You gotta let me go. You said you’d let me go if I talked.”

Bill leaned forward. “Did I?”

“You—” The rest of his words were gurgled in a pool of blood as the knife sliced through his carotid artery.

Russo wiped his knife and stood up. “I never saw Bennett, but he has to be involved and at least a couple more under him.”

Frank nodded. They had figured as much when they saw the bricks being inserted into a dead private. Now they knew the bodies were being handled in Ramstein on their way to New York. The chances of Schoonover not being involved were shrinking with each passing moment.

“Schoonover—”

“Yeah.” Frank ran his hand over the back of his head. The man he had respected, whose life he had saved, who had taught him to hold a weapon was a dirty, rotten scumbag allowing bodies of dead Marines to be desecrated in the name of profit.

“These guys were sloppy,” Bill continued. “Too sloppy. We saw this coming a mile away.”

Frank nodded. “They are the distraction. The professionals are waiting for us in Frankfurt.” That was the only thing that made sense. The Blacksmith wouldn't have gotten where he was with amateur operators. 

“Either they take us out in the airport, which is risky, or our plane meets with an unfortunate accident.”

That made Frank's rage boil. The Blacksmith was willing and more than capable of taking out a whole aircraft just to silence two Marines. But they could avoid that tragedy.

“They’ll know we’re coming when these guys don’t check in.” Frank ran through several possibilities in his head. They couldn’t fly out of Frankfurt, even if they changed flights, their names would definitely be tagged. “We need new IDs if we want to get back to New York anytime soon.”

“I know a guy. We can take the Frankfurt to Paris train and be there by the evening.” He looked at the dead bodies. “But we have to deal with the bodies, the last thing we want is to be driving around with them.”

They made short work of stripping the bodies of any valuables and wrapping them in the tarps. Lucky for them, their location had a quiet, out of sight ravine that would make a nice place to dump the bodies. With any luck, by the time they were found, Frank and Bill would be well on their way to New York.

“Hold up Frank.” Bill placed one of their newfound phones in his pocket. “He has Google Pay. He can pay for the train tickets.” Bill nodded to one of the bodies. He pulled out his knife and cut off the man’s index finger. He put it on the phone. “OK. Got it.”

“Jesus Christ, Russo.”

Bill just looked at Frank. “It’s not like we can use our credit cards for the tickets.”

He had a point. Bodies dealt with, they were back on the road and heading for the train station. Bill pulled out a different phone and punched in a number.

“Allo.”

“Eddie, ol’ pal, it’s me, Bart. I have your skis, thought you’d want them back. I’ll be in Paris in a couple of hours. When is a good time for me to come by and see you?”

“There is no Eddie here.”

Frank’s grip tightened on the wheel, and he snuck a glance at Bill.

“I could have sworn these top of the line skis belonged to Eddie, but hey, I could always sell them to someone and keep all the proceeds.” Bill kicked up his heels, dropping them on the dashboard.

Silence.

“Thought you were the ex-wife trying to get me to pay alimony, Pretty-Boy Bart. Yeah, I’ll take my skis back. They are _very_ expensive.”

“I’m bringing my friend,” Bill looked at Frank, “Pete. Pete Castiglione. That’s c-a-s—”

“My mother’s Italian, asshole. I know how to spell Castiglione. I’ll tell her you’re coming. She loves to see your pretty face.”

“We’ll be in Paris in a couple of hours.” Bill took the back cover of the phone off and pulled out the SIM card and battery. He then proceeded to do the same for the other phones they’d confiscated and tossed them under the seats. “Four hours to Paris once we board the train. Eddie will have most of the paperwork ready, so let’s say eight-ten hours until we can board a plane. Another eight plus to get to New York. Then what? The US. Attorney is not going to accept our testimony based on my good looks alone.”

“Put one of the SIMs back in a phone,” Frank said. Bill made quick work of it and handed the phone over. Frank punched up the numbers and waited for the long-distance call to connect.

It rang and rang and rang. After the tenth ring, it picked up, but there was no greeting.

“Run.” Frank tossed the phone to Bill. “Gunner filmed it. The autopsies. The bricks. The everything including Bennett. That’s what we’re taking to the Deputy Attorney.”

Bill nodded. “With my good looks and Gunner’s video, we’ll be golden.”

 

 

 


	3. The Circus

“This doesn’t make any sense.”

Talia took her eyes off the road, glancing at the display flashing across the windshield in front of Karen. Words and images melded into each other until they were one big blur. At least for Talia.

“Maybe if you slowed down, the words would actually materialize.”

Karen’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve read it through _twice_. The case file, the transcript interview with the U.S. Attorney, the testimony to the special grand jury. And that’s all from the last twenty-four hours. High ranking members of the military including at least one Marine colonel are running a drug smuggling operation out of Kandahar via Ramstein to New York.”

Talia whistled. “Cutting into Gao’s business? Either ballsy or stupid.”

“Other than the connection to the Hand—”

“It’s down to one small middle finger now.”

Karen bit the inside of her cheek. The Hand got their asses _handed_ to them, and now there was only one. It was no real surprise that the one left standing when all the rubble was cleared was one tiny, powerful and older than dirt Madame Gao. That old bitty probably scared the shit out Satan himself.

“What I’m saying,” Karen continued, “is other than that periphery connection, there’s no extranormality involvement. And since when does SHIELD care about run-of-the-mill drug smugglers? Even if they are smuggling using the corpses of military servicemen.”

Talia hissed. “That would get us involved regardless of jurisdiction. Rogers would go ballistic in that All-American way of his.”

“But _we_ didn’t know anything about it before Fury assigned the babysitting job. There’s no sign that SHIELD nor the Avengers are involved in any way, shape or form.”

“Maybe it’s just the Kandahar connection then. You started having the heebie-jeebies the minute we entered that airspace.”

It had been a nightmarish fire-fight. Bullets flying. Friends bleeding out.

_I_ _’m gonna get you home._

Enemies coming out of every dark corner. Their murderous intent infecting her like a virus. Their ugly thoughts so loud she knew where they were. Saw them. Killed them.

She’d woken up screaming. The sensation of hot blood dripping off her face. She wiped it off only for her hand to be clean. She could smell the burn of smoke, the rank of sweat and stench of death. It clung to her.

The mission had gone downhill from there with a horde of demons.

“It could be Fury’s way to give you some closure on Kandahar.”

Maybe.

“Or he knows that we’ll get along with two all-muscle-no-brain jarheads like oil and water.”

That was more Fury’s speed in response to vomitpalooza. Karen looked at the pictures of the two Marines. Well, maybe just one all muscle, no brain. Those dark eyes didn’t lack intelligence.

“They are officers,” she said, “they can’t be that bad.”

Talia snorted. “Take those rose-colored, smitten glasses off.”

“I’m _not_ smitten!” Maybe a little, but Talia didn’t know that. Not for sure. Even if Karen kept going back to one particular image again and again.

“They are SpecOps and Marines. It doesn’t get more Me Tarzan than that.”

Karen cringed.

“What?”

“Both born in Hell’s Kitchen.”

Talia groaned. “Fury is totally getting even.”

Karen couldn’t disagree. Not really. On paper, Russo and Castle were the poster boys of every asshole who had looked at them and proceeded to call them honey or sweetheart, condescension dripping from every syllable. Karen went back to a picture of Castle with those dark eyes that just did something to her in a level that she hadn’t felt in - well, ever. Talia was right. Karen needed to take off the smitten glasses. It wasn’t fair to her, who would end up disappointed as usual and it wasn’t fair to him either. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t live up to her impossible standards. And even if he did, it’s not like she’d risk doing anything about it.

“Twenty bucks,” Talia said, pulling into a quiet neighborhood, “that within fifteen minutes they’ll imagine us naked and kissing.”

Karen’s hand flew to her mouth in a feeble attempt to stifle the laugh. “I won’t take a fool’s bet.”

“Fifty that it happens in the first five minutes they see us.”

“Deal.” There was no way it would happen in five. Six? Probably. “I’ll set the clock.”

Talia slowed the car. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Karen turned off the display and saw the problem. In one of those quiet little side streets of West Village, there were three police cars, more black sedans than at the motor pool at the FBI, and more men and women, both in and out of uniform, just loitering around shooting the breeze than in any precinct in the Five Burroughs.

“Are they trying to paint a bull’s—”

“Don’t. Say. It.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “He’s not a demon that can be summoned by name alone.”

“You sure about that?”

Karen opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t be _sure_ , not in a one hundred percent sort of way.  That _‘man’_ might not be summoned like a demon, but he was more than just a mere human. Her mouth slammed shut.

“That’s what I thought.”

They climbed out and made a beeline for the first uni, flashed their badges and asked who was in charge. They made it through the blue and black gauntlet and climbed the steps.

“You Mahoney?”

The exasperated man looked up. “Who’s asking?” He studied their SHIELD badges for several extra long seconds. Then blew out an angry breath. “That’s all I need. More Feds trying to get my people killed.”

His thoughts were loud and angry. He saw what they had seen the moment they’d pulled in. Too many people. Might as well put it in the nightly news the location of this ‘safe house.’ Every idiot looking to strike it rich was going to be gunning for the men who had a ten million bounty on their head, and that meant the men and women in blue were going to get caught in a shooting gallery.

“They have a hit on them?”

Mahoney blinked. “What?”

Karen smiled. “Who’s the head clown in charge of this circus?”

Mahoney studied her for a long second, then pointed. “Special Agent Carson Wolf.”

 

 

Frank Castle, freshly showered, pulled up the sleeves of the Henley as he climbed down the back stairs into the kitchen. “What’s that?” He pointed to the monster in Bill’s hand.

“A samwich,” Bill said between mouthfuls.

Frank’s eyes narrowed. “Did you make me one?

Bill wiped across his mouth with the back of his hand. “Do I look like your wife?”

“If you were my wife, I’d be wondering where my life went wrong.” Frank grabbed the sandwich from Bill’s grasp and chomped down.

Bill grabbed a dishcloth and wiped his hands. He hadn’t _made_ a sandwich for Frank, but he had made it big enough to share.

“This is a total clusterfuck, Franky. That idiot is going to get us killed. They might as well have put a neon sign saying _Kill them here_.”

Frank nodded. He’d noticed it too. There were just too many fucking people all around them. Most would be honest, hard-working men and women in blue, but they were in New York, and that meant that the Blacksmith probably had people on the inside of every precinct on the island.

And the first thing that prick Wolf had done was take their weapons. For _their_ safety, he said.

“What’d you come up with?”

“Crappy knives,” Bill pointed at the table. “That asshole took my Betty. I want Betty back, Frank.”

Bill was not the first Marine Frank had known who named his weapons. But he was the only one to name _all_ his weapons.

“I’ll get you a new one.”

“But it won’t be my Betty.” Bill crossed his arms staring at the closed kitchen door.

“Did you try the detective? Mahoney?” That man had looked more than irritated when Wolf kept ordering him around like a damn rookie.

“He’s looking into it,” Bill replied. “We can’t stay here, Frank. It’s too open and way too many civilians.”

No. They couldn’t stay in this family-friendly neighborhood. Especially when there was a drug lord gunning for them. But at least they’d gotten a real shower for the first time in over three days, and even if they weren’t rested, they were on their home turf and here could get the things they’d need to survive. As soon as they got away from the asshole Fed with his overpriced shoes.

They heard the yelling coming from the other side of the door. Since there was no gunfire, yet, it couldn’t be too bad. But Frank grabbed two of the knives Bill had picked out and shoved them in a special sheath built into the inside of his boot. He pushed through the door and followed the yelling.

The first thing he saw was green eyes lasered at him from a stunning brunette in black leather, jeans, and tactical boots. Huh. She eyed him head to toe, then turned her back to him as if he was no treat. He was almost insulted that he’d been summarily dismissed so casually and completely. She had no idea she’d let dangerous men come up behind her. With Bill covering his six, he moved around the brunette to see the main show.

_Sunshine._ That was his first thought. Her hair was like rays of sunshine. And she was _tall._ She was in Wolf’s face, and he was close to six feet. He’d be surprised if she couldn’t look him straight in the eyes. Her black trench hit mid-thigh, her black pants ended inside tactical boots. It was not what he’d been expecting.

“Are you purposely trying to get these men killed or are you just accidentally incompetent?”

And she was a ball-buster. A smile tugged at his lips.

“Do you know who I am?” Wolf increased his mass by putting his hands on his hips and stepped forward.

Frank had seen that move countless times by countless men. They had all been bullies. The brunette next to him stiffened, and Frank took half a step forward to intervene.

“SHIELD has no authority over this case,” Wolf continued.

SHIELD? …dafuck? Frank sat back on his heel, turned back to the brunette, then the blonde again. They were SHIELD agents?

“I have all of the authority I need to take over your three-ring circus.” That voice sounded like silk, but it dripped with steel.

There was a low buzz next to him, and the brunette pulled out a phone from her pocket. Whatever message it spewed made her smile, and Frank realized that he’d made the mistake he’d accused the her making. He’d considered her a non-threat and put himself within striking distance of a predator.

There was a loud ring coming from Wolf. He stared at the blonde for an extra second, then answered his phone. “What?” He barked. He straightened. “Sir?” He looked at the blonde. “Yes, sir. They are.” Wolf’s jaw clenched. “There must be some mistake—” Wolf’s knuckles turned white. “No, sir.” The phone looked seconds from being crushed. “Yes. Yes, sir.”

Frank was half expecting Wolf to throw the phone at the blonde. The brunette must have thought the same thing because she moved to stand within an arm’s distance to Wolf.

“It’s all yours,” Wolf said. “My team is out of here. You can deal with,” he turned to Mahoney, “the locals.”  He stormed out, followed by his lackeys.

The blonde turned a blinding smile at Frank. He knew she’d been looking for the brunette, but he got the full force of it. All sunshine and rainbows and dazzling confidence. He felt like he’d been hit with a two-by-four upside the head.

“You’re right,” Mahoney said, looking at the brunette. “It was worth it.”

“Get your men situated as you like, detective.” The blonde again and this time the voice was pure silk.

“You do realize you can’t stay here, right?” Mahoney scratched the back of his head. “I’m surprised we haven’t been hit yet, but…”

“We know,” the brunette said, her voice had an edge like strong whiskey. “We’ll get them ready and be out of your hair in no time.”

Jesus. Women who looked like them, shouldn’t sound like that. It gave any red-blooded man with a pulse, ideas. Very inappropriate ideas. And by the look of Mahoney, the detective agreed. Frank glanced over at Bill, but his buddy’s eyes were on the tactical boots. Yeah, women who looked like that and sounded like that sure as hell shouldn’t wear tactical boots. A man could only take so much.

“That’s Castle and Russo,” Mahoney said.

Frank looked up and met the largest, bluest pair of eyes he’d ever seen. He’d thought she’d been sunshine, then silk and steel, but now… _Jesus. Fuck._ It was a kick to the stomach. A supernova. A lifetime and an instant.

“Well, hello, ladies.”

The eyes turned frosty, and the blonde turned to Bill. It was the tone. That tone that Bill had which was charming and insulting, suggestive and dripping with indecent promises. There was a sharp beeping sound, and the blonde looked at her watch. She sighed and pulled out a wallet, then handed cash to the brunette.

“Thank you,” the brunette told Bill waving the money. “I’m Talia, she’s Karen.”

Karen. Frank didn’t think his brain was going to let go of _sunshine_ any time soon, if ever _._ Karen glanced at him, an almost smile playing across her lips.

“What? No very special agent?”

“Jesus, Russo,” Mahoney shook his head, “I’ve never met them before tonight.”

“Tell you what, Pretty Boy,” Talia said, walking over until she stood in front of Bill. Her head had to tilt up, but not by much. “Dial it back, say by ten, and I’ll tell you why I’m very Special Agent Talia Amaquelin of SHIELD.”

Bill’s eyes had a wicked gleam to them. “Will you promise to show me your weapon?”

Mahoney hissed and spun around, heading for the front door. Sunshine…Karen dropped her eyes, hand covering her mouth, but not before Frank saw the smile. The brunette moved, and Frank waited for the smack of hand to face. It wouldn’t be the first time Bill had gone too far.

“Darling,” Talia ran short, unpainted nails across Bill’s jawline, his whole body stiffening under her touch, “I don’t need a weapon.” Her hand dropped to his chest, then she leaned forward until they were cheek to cheek. “I am the weapon.”

If Frank lived to be a hundred, he would always remember, and never hesitate to tell anyone who’d listen, that he’d witnessed William ‘Billy’ Russo fall head over heels in love for the first and only time in his life in the living room of a safe house on the West Side as a drug lord was trying to kill them.

“Now be a good boy,” Talia smacked Bill’s cheek, gently, “and get your gear because we can’t stay here.”

“After,” Bill cleared his throat shaking off an unwanted pitch or two in his voice, “you tell me what the hell SHIELD has to do with all this.” He crossed his arms and waited.

“Ours is not to reason why,” Karen said.

“Ours is but to do and die,” Frank replied, and those bluer than blue eyes snapped up to his, and he barely remembered his own name.

Mahoney walked back into the living room. “We have a problem.”

 

 

Karen was distracted. It was the only excuse she had. First, it had been that idiot Wolf. God, she’d wanted to get in his mind and tear it from the inside out. She wouldn’t have, but she’d wanted to. The man had been a misogynistic prick. How anyone could be so insulting with just one sentence was beyond her. She’d known the phone call was coming. The minute Mahoney gave them the name, Talia had made the call they _always_ had to make when dealing with Homeland. It hadn’t taken long, but that man had been so infuriating that a minute had felt like fifteen.

And then…Castle. If she’d thought his dark eyes had been impressive in a picture, in person, they were striking. Breath stealing. She’d had to remember how to breathe when he looked at her. Her stomach had been in free fall ever since.

She was not shallow. She liked and recognized a pretty face like Russo. But looks never had been something that got her head twisted about. Castle wasn’t pretty, certainly not like Russo. She stood by that. But there was something about him in person that had left her completely unmoored.  There was power and charisma emanating from every pore. Then he spoke and a low, gravelly voice that had her ready to throw off her clothes and climb that tree like a seasoned lumberjack.

Looks, voice, and the spirit of Tennyson. She was definitely smitten.

So that’s why she was distracted. That’s why she hadn’t heard _them._

“I lost contact with some of my men,” Mahoney said.

_Pop, pop. Pop, pop, pop._

Talia pulled out her phone and cursed. “Blocked.”

Karen touched her earpiece. “Leo, copy? Fitz!” Dead air. She looked at Talia and shook her head, then closed her eyes and listened.

Her power comes in different flavors. Sometimes it was vanilla, almost passive. Information gently flowed to her, scattered and unstructured. It took effort, time and patience to decipher every detail awaiting her attention. Other times, it was a rich, spicy chocolate. She couldn’t miss the intent even if she ignored it. It was like a scream on a silent night.

Right now, she was being bombarded with thoughts of greed and malice. A wall of danger intent on bringing death. And the wall was large and moving.

“Now would be a good time for a weapon,” Billy said. Talia lifted her leg and pulled out a knife, handing it to him. “That’s it?”

Talia ignored him. “Kare?”

“There’s a lot of them.” Her eyes were still closed to the room in front of her. “Front.” She pointed at the large curtained windows twenty feet away from them.

Karen ignored the crackle in the air as Talia sent the large sofa flying across the room, embedding it an inch deep into the wall.

“Holy shit.” Poor detective Mahoney. He sounded surprised. And resigned.

Other furniture moved to cover the rest of the windows and the doorway.

_Oh._ Karen realized why she’d missed the danger. Yes, there was some distraction involved, but…

Her eyes opened. “They were already here.” She’d missed them because the assassins had been in and out of uniform. “Detective,” she said, and pointed, “cover the front.” She turned to Talia, “Four coming from the kitchen in seventy seconds and,” she looked up, they all did when the heavy footsteps landed, “three from above.”

Talia kept her eyes on the ceiling. “I’m going to want my knife back when this is over.” She raised her hands. “Kare?”

Karen moved between Frank and Russo, careful to not touch them, and kept an eye on the kitchen door. Forty-five seconds. She waved her arms, hands moving in an intricate ballet of fingers. “Go.”

Talia’s movement was harder. Stronger and a hell of a lot less graceful. But when hands swung down, the ceiling came with it, and three men, all dressed in black tactical gear came along with it.

 

 

Frank and Bill didn’t hesitate. When the bullets popped, their knives were at the ready. Nobody wants a knife in a gunfight, but if they could get the bad guys in close combat, the odds would improve.

They didn’t hesitate, but they sure as hell cursed god dammed SHIELD agents who didn’t carry guns. Then the furniture went flying.

_Oh._

Then Karen started reciting enemy movements like a human version of an eye in the sky. Her partner listened. And so did Frank and Bill.

Then the brunette brought the whole damned ceiling down with three men amongst the rubble.

_Holy shit._

“There are your weapons.”

Talia’s hadn’t finished the sentence before Frank and Billy were on top of two of the three downed men. Knives met soft flesh, the men died, and now they had guns and ammo and a lot more than they’d had thirty seconds ago.

“Talia!”

Frank looked up, as four men, he’d forgotten about them, came through the kitchen door. He swung up the confiscated assault rifle, but a body came flying over his head, landing on the foursome. Then all five bodies flew upwards at and through the ceiling with various cracking and grinding noises. Three bodies came back down but didn’t move. They also looked a lot shorter than they had when they’d walked into the room. The other two remained dangling from the ceiling.

“How much time?”

Frank blinked, then realized that Talia meant how much time until the next wave. Jesus Christ. How many were there?

“Not much,” Karen replied. “More coming through the kitchen in less than ninety.”

Talia walked past Bill, hand extended. He placed her knife on her hand, and she dropped it inside her boot without a pause.

“What about my men?”

Karen looked at Mahoney, “They are holding their own, and they called for help, but if we don’t draw these guys away, they won’t make it.”

“How do you plan we do that?”  Frank and Karen looked at each other, and there was just a sense of familiarity that Frank just couldn’t shake off. There was beauty in those blue eyes of hers, certainly. But there was fire and steel as well. And there was something else he couldn’t name.

_Make it mean something._

“Through the kitchen. Out the back.”

Beauty. Darkness. And death.

“Didn’t you say they were coming from the kitchen?” Mahoney asked.

“Yes. Five of them,” she answered.

Talia went into the kitchen.

“Fuck,” Billy said, weapons raised and on her heels.

“Jesus.” Mahoney straightened and followed.

Frank hadn’t moved. Just looked at Karen.

“They’re all dead now.”

If she was expecting him to criticize whatever mumbo-jumbo magic bullshit she and Talia had done she was going to have to wait a long ass time.

“Good.”

_You_ _’re not a monster._

He reached for her, but she flinched back, her hand outstretched, palm out, stopping him cold. That’s when he realized she was wearing gloves. It hadn’t registered before, but now it was almost like her shield against him.

Fear.

His stomach dropped at the thought of her being afraid of him. But her eyes weren’t frightened. They were strong and determined. This woman was a goddess of steel. She wouldn’t fear a mere mortal like him.

“We have to go. There are more coming, and we have to keep you safe.” She blinked. “Both of you.”

She turned and headed for the kitchen. Knowing full well he’d be right on her heels.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I've missed something, feel free to drop me a line. After 3-4 edit runs the words blur. Thanks for reading.


	4. Shooting Gallery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had cider. A LOT of cider then I edited. So...forwarned. :) As always, thanks for reading.

 

 

Karen grabbed a couple of bananas and apple from the fruit bowl and shoved them in her pockets. She started opening the cupboards.

“Any handy snacks? Protein bars would be best.”

Castle blinked, then walked up to her and reached for a cupboard she hadn’t opened yet. Pulling out a box of protein bars. Extra protein.

_Thank god._

She ripped the box open and dumped the contents out, then started shoving them in any extra pocket. Several in her hands, she spun around and faced him. He was closer than she’d expected. Their breaths mingled. God. This man was making her _want_ things.

_Get it together, Page!_

She shoved bars in the pockets of his appropriated vest.

“I’ll probably crush them.”

His voice was low, and she knew he was trying to get her to look at him but she really couldn’t right now otherwise she’d do something stupid like kiss him and with her luck that would probably kill him.

“They don’t have to be pretty. Just edible. We’re going to need the extra energy sooner rather than later. Let’s go.”

They walked out into the back alley. It didn’t take long to see the first body. Castle didn’t flinch, then again, neither did Karen.

Five bodies littered the ground, blood streaks out of ears and noses. Bloody empty holes where eyes should have been. Mahoney looked like he was about two seconds away from losing his dinner. Talia, head down, was leaning heavily against a tree. Russo kneeling beside her, but eyes scanning up and down the tiny one-way street.

“How long?” Talia’s voice was raw from the strain.

The sounds of siren’s screamed closer. Karen realized that the gunfire from the front had also stopped. They might make it after all. Talia moved, face now out of the shadows and Karen knew why the gunfire had stopped. And why Mahoney’s men were still alive.

Russo did a double take and stood up. “You’re bleeding.” He reached out, but Talia was already wiping the blood from her nose.

Karen pulled out a banana, peeled it and handed it to her friend.

“Is now really the time for a snack?” Mahoney looked at them and then scanned the street.

“We have time,” Karen said. “They’re alive. Your friends.” She glanced at Talia. They were alive because of Talia. She had taken out eight men that had been shooting from the front. And she was paying for it now.

“OK. Okay, good.” Mahoney straightened. “We head for the sirens.”

Karen’s hands shot up a split second too late. Mahoney took a half-step in front of Castle, and the bullet meant for the Marine’s head hit the detective on the neck. Castle caught Mahoney before he crumpled, hand already trying fruitlessly to stem the arterial flow.

Talia grabbed Russo’s collar and yanked down with one hand while the other was up, palm facing outward. With the lack of force, the bullet that had been aimed at Russo’s head dropped to the ground like dead weight.

“Snipers!” Billy rolled and took cover behind a tree, looking for the muzzle flash. He spared a glance at Talia and Frank who were now both covering Mahoney and stepped out into the light, making himself a better target.

Karen stood and moved to the center of the street, arms outstretched palms up. Her long blond hair began to flow around her as if it had a life of its own. Her hands fisted and power surged through her.

_One Tesseract. Two—_

There would be no more bullets. Not from those men. They were still alive only in the most basic sense. Their hearts did beat. Their lungs expanded. Their blood flowed. But that was because the only part of their brains still intact was brain stem. The rest was meaty soup inside skulls.

“Kare!”

Karen blinked then took two quick steps before dropping beside Mahoney. She put both hands on the detective’s cheeks. “It’s going to be fine, detective. We got you. And you’re not dying tonight.”

Mahoney’s body started to relax. He blinked once, twice.

“I got him,” Karen said.

Talia moved Castle’s hand away from the shredded neck. The blood stopped spurting out.

 

 

Mahoney was dead. There was no doubt about it. Not for Frank. Then the atmosphere crackled and popped. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end because their area was thick with static electricity and raw power. He saw the air particles bounce off his skin. Smelled the roasted garlic chicken from the next block. Heard Bill’s heart beating, listened to the rush of blood as it flowed through his friend. He _held_ Mahoney in his hands. It was so real, Frank looked down at his hands, no trace of blood on them. But the cuffs of his Henley were still soaked. He hadn’t imagined it.

The bullet oozed out of Mahoney, and his neck started to slowly stitch itself back together.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Talia was starting to shake from the strain, blood now dripping out of her nose. But she wasn’t stopping.

Bill knelt beside her, put one hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder. “I got you.”

A streak of red streamed out of Karen’s ear. Frank didn’t _know_ exactly what they were doing. If pressed, he’d say that they women saved the detective’s life. But he knew it was so much more than that. Mahoney had been half through Death’s Door. Talia was healing the physical wound, and unless he was wrong, Karen was holding the man’s soul. Keeping it _here._ In this existence.

Saving the detective’s life was costing both women dearly. It looked like a gunshot wound now. Not like the shredded beef of before. Mahoney’s eyes opened, gulped for air then inhaled. Exhaled. In and out.

“Enough!” Frank nodded to Bill who wrapped his arms Talia and pulled her back and away from Mahoney.

“Not. Done.” But she couldn’t break Bill’s hold, she tried, then just sank into his chest.

“Karen.” Frank knelt beside her. “You did it. You held him. He can handle it from here.”

Blood was now pooling in her eye and oozing out of tear duct.

 _All of them, they all think you_ _’re a monster._

“Karen!” He grabbed her gloved wrists and used all of his military experience in ordering men around into words. “Let. Him. Go.”

She inhaled sharply, breathing like she’d just run a marathon, eyes blinking wildly. Then Frank understood. Mahoney hadn’t had one foot in the grave. He’d been all in death. Six-feet under and the whole nine yards. The man had been dead and the only thing that had kept his soul - spirit - whatever had been Karen. She hadn’t just kept him here. She’d gone after him and snatched him from Death’s grasp, pulling the detective back into the land of the living.

That meant she’d also been in that darkness. In danger of losing herself in that void. That willingness to risk everything for a relative stranger made his blood run cold. She could have died, but _he_ would have felt the loss. Frank had spent less than thirty minutes with her. Didn’t even know her last name, but the thought of losing this woman turned his world upside down and inside out, ripping him to pieces. He looked down at his hands, now being gripped tightly in hers.

It started to sting then burn.

She snatched her hands back so hard she landed flat on her butt. Frank reached out to help, but she scrambled backward, shaking her head.

“No. No, no. Don’t.”

Frank’s brow furrowed. He wanted to say something. But words got jumbled with a need to console and comfort. Even if the right words magically appeared, he wouldn’t know where to begin. He reached into the vest, pulling out a protein bar.

“You’re bleeding.” He motioned at his face. “A lot.” He tossed her the bar because she looked like she needed it.

“Thanks.” She wiped at her face with the inside of her shirt, then ripped open the foil and started eating. Her eyes never leaving his.

Yeah. This whole shit was a clusterfuck. Questions were piling up but now wasn’t the time. Frank nodded, then looked at Mahoney.

“What happened?” The detective’s voice was raspy and dry.

“You really want me to tell you?” Frank wouldn’t know where to start or if the other man would even believe him.

Mahoney closed his eyes for a brief second. “No. I really don’t.” He coughed, face twisting in pain. His hesitated, then reached for the injury, probing its tenderness. “Help me up, Castle.”

“I really don’t think you should be walking.” But Frank had his arm around and under the detective, helping him sit up.

“Prop me against something, will you?” Mahoney looked at Bill and Talia. “You look as bad as I feel.”

“Hmm.” Talia grimaced. “Probably worse.” Her voice was taut and brittle.

Bill’s lips lightly grazed her temple, his gaze met Frank’s.

Yeah. He had questions, too.

Frank propped Mahoney against the tree. Pulled out a protein bar and tossed it to Bill.

“Make her eat that.” He turned to Mahoney and held out another bar.

“What are you? The snack lady?”

A banana appeared between them. Frank looked up at Karen.

“You need the potassium.” Her eyes darted like a skittish colt, bouncing between him and Mahoney, who took the fruit. “We have to get you guys out of here.”

“Wait.” Mahoney grimaced as he tried to push himself up. Frank carefully pushed him back down. “The cavalry—”

“Was shooting at us too,” Frank said. “We’re better off on our own. You know that.”

Mahoney looked at him hard but then nodded. “How do I find you?”

“You don’t,” Karen answered. “We’ll find you.”

“Story of my life,” Mahoney said under his breath. “Go before someone else decides to shoot at me.”

Frank stood up. “He gonna be alright?”

Karen looked at him with those blue-blue eyes of hers, but unfocused, seeing in a way he couldn't quite comprehend. She was _listening_ or whatever it was called. Her head bobbed once slowly, then in quick secession.

“The cavalry is coming.”

“We gotta go, Frank.” Bill still had his arm around Talia, but she looked better.

They started to move. Around the corner and down another street, staying in the shadows. A police car sped by them, going towards the house they’d left. They went one block, then another.

“We need wheels.” Frank looked around a corner, then at Bill. “Someone is gonna notice.” He held up the assault rifle.

“That and the fact that they,” Bill pointed at Talia and Karen, “look like Carrie at the prom.” He pulled the assault rifle over his shoulder and handed it to Talia. “Haven’t hot-wired a car since I was fourteen. Let’s see if it’s like riding a bike.”

“Get something inconspicuous,” Frank ordered. “We don’ need no pink caddy.”

“You have no sense of style, Franky.” Bill walked out of the alley.

Frank looked at Talia and Karen. He didn’t quite know what to make of them, but damn if they weren’t hella impressive.

“What?” Karen looked at him, brow furrowed.

 _What?_ He couldn’t even begin what, but she was looking at him like this was a typical night for her.

“Not a thing, ma’am.”

A black SUV pulled at the mouth of the alley and beeped. Frank turned, weapon at the ready. At least Bill picked something sensible. The three of them moved towards the vehicle. Talia took shotgun. Frank opened the back for Karen.

“I can open a door, captain.”

“Never doubted for a minute, ma’am.” He climbed in after her. And Bill pulled into the street.

“We have to figure out how bad this it is,” Bill said. “Find a place we can hide out.” He looked at Talia. “And you should really carry a gun.”

Talia gave him a lopsided smile. “Guns don’t normally stop the things that come after us.”

Bill stared. Looked back to the road in front of him, then back at Talia. Frank’s eyes drifted to Karen.

“She’s not exaggerating.”

Jesus. He really didn’t want to know what couldn’t be taken out with a gun. Point. Shoot. Kill. That had been his life for over fifteen years. Wasn’t sure he could live any other way. But looking at Karen almost made him wish there was.

“The bleeding stopped.” He pointed to her face. Her hand flew to her nose, then ears. “Food helps?” She nodded. “Don’t know if we can find any of that healthy kale shit or something, but would fries and a shake work?”

She snorted. “Fried and high calorie always works.”

“Bill.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard. But I’m not stopping for some fast-food shit. We still need to figure out where the hell we’re going.”

Talia pulled out her phone, cursed, then tossed it on the floor. “Dead.” She tapped on her ear, then yanked at the wires with more than necessary. “We’re in the dark.”

Karen followed suit, but with less force. “Yeah. Me too.”

Frank thought about all that energy floating in the air while they had saved Mahoney. He looked at his watch, surprised it was still running but figured it was too low tech to be affected by whatever they’d done to the detective.

“OK,” Bill said looking at the street signs, “I think there’s a Five Gu—”

“Turn!” Karen’s arm was outstretched, touching the driver’s headrest.

The SUV made a sharp right turn, tires squealing, and Frank was thrown against Karen, but he managed to brace himself before all of his two-hundred-plus pounds crushed her. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her lips parted. Their breaths mingled and time slowed.

“We have to stop meeting like this, ma’am.”

Time returned to normal, and the SUV started popping all around them. The back window shattered.

“Frank!”

He pulled himself up and grabbed the assault rifle. “On it.” It didn’t take him long to find them. Three black sedans swerving in and around the cars behind them. Frank rested the barrel on the back of the seat and waited.

“One batch, two batch. Penny and dime.” He pulled the trigger and didn’t stop.

Bill kept the SUV moving, faster and faster, avoiding the various other cars and ignoring their angry drivers. “How the hell did they find us so fast?”

It didn’t really matter how. Just that they had and the odds were getting worse by the second as two more black cars, this time SUVs, joined the chase and it was obvious whose side they were on.

Frank pulled the trigger, and the closest car turned sharply, crashing into a parked vehicle. They needed to get out of the streets and into proper cover. Preferable one that wasn’t loaded up with fuel that could blow up with a bullet. Bill made a sharp turn crossing into a busy intersection.

“Talia!”

Frank turned at Karen’s scream, but he knew it was too late. Two tons of metal was bearing down on them, and there was nothing Frank could do. The headlights were blinding. They were dead, and he never got a chance to really know her. To find out if those lips were as sweet as her smiles.

_Sorry, sunshine._

 

Karen dug deep into her reserves and forced the universe to slow down just enough for Talia to do her thing. A strangled sob escaped her at the sound of crushing metal. The passenger’s window exploded, and glass littered the air. She’d been too slow, and now they were all going to die because she hadn’t been strong enough. Hadn’t searched far enough. Hadn’t seen the truck bearing down on them.

The SUV lifted off the ground. If the accident didn’t kill them, then the men so close behind them with assault rifles would finish them off like fish in a barrel. And it would be her fault.

The car started to break apart. Actually, it exploded into a million little pieces. Metal and plastic and fabric were torn apart by an unseen force separating each from the other and into separate parts. It looked like a toy with all pieces pulled apart, waiting to be put back together.

Karen was yanked back away from the crushing metal, hands outstretched still trying to stop a collision she couldn’t control. Frank was angled sideways, clenching the rifle with one hand and reaching out for her with the other. Bill had a death grip on the now detached steering wheel, legs swinging wildly, looking for some form of support. Only Talia had full control of her body as she flew up and back away from the chaos, hair wild around her and eyes that were now pure black.

There was utter silence. Then complete chaos.

Karen landed on the ground hard, but away from the debris and fire. There would be a bruise or two, but it wasn't the bone shattering force it would have been had she been in the car. Within two breaths, a large, powerful body covered hers, and things exploded around them.

The smell of smoke and asphalt assaulted her, mingling with the rain from two days ago that still lingered on everything it touched. She could still taste the blood that had run into her lips.

And there was Frank. That granite-like body covered hers, an arm made of steel cradled her head. Every inch of him imprinted on her body. She wasn’t a small woman. Had grown up being called _Amazon_ and _Sasquatch_. How’s the weather up there? The fact that she’d been an athlete just made it worse. If boys had been  intimidated by height, they lost it when they realized she was also faster and, in more than one occasion, stronger.

Then it got cruel. _Freak. Inhuman._

It wasn’t until Georgetown, until she got out of that rinky-dink small town mentality of Fagan’s Corners that things got better. At SHIELD, she’d found her new family where Inhuman became a badge of honor, a community, not a slur.

So Karen wasn’t small or weak. But Frank was holding her like she was made of spun glass. She couldn’t bring herself to feel offended.

“You hurt?” His breath brushed against her ear. “Karen?”

She shook her head. “No. We need to get out of here.”

Frank pushed himself up and even though he’d been protecting her with his body, he hadn’t let his full body weight on her. She couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss.

“We need to move, sunshine.” His hand was on her elbow, and he guided her in a half crouch-run to Billy and Talia.

Tears of blood were coming out of Talia’s darkened eyes. Russo smudged a bloody streak across her cheek.

“You still in there?” He didn’t flinch when those red-blackened eyes focused on him. Talia grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer, crashing her lips to his.

Karen took a deep breath. _One Tesseract. Two Tesseract. Three Tesseract. Four Tesseract. Five Tess-_

Talia released Bill who stumbled back, looking a little punch-drunk and more than a bit gray around the gills. Talia’s eyes were now back to their normal green.

“You good?”

Talia shook her head. “Not by a long-shot, but I can walk now.” She stood and looked at Russo. “You still in there?”

“Incoming.” Frank went down on a knee and raised his weapon. Bill followed suit, albeit a bit slower. “How many, Karen?”

“Six. Two coming around the red van. Three are moving around the truck at your eleven.”

“Bill?”

“Got the van.”

 _Pop. Pop, pop. Pop. Pop._ Bodies dropped. Two were dead before they hit the street.

“Where’s the last one?” Frank turned. “Kar-?”

“She’s taking care of it.” She tried to modulate her voice. Tried to comfort the alarm that was screaming out of him. But she couldn’t shift her focus right now.

Talia had held the assassin aloft, by the throat. _Got him. Check Billy._

Karen blinked and turned to Russo. “You good?” His eyes were still on Talia. “Russo!” He turned. “You good?” A slow nod, then he focused back on Talia and started walking her way.

“You OK?

She should have been used to it by now. Adaptability was one of her top skills. But that voice. Those eyes. She wondered if she ever would.

“I’m OK.” This time she was able to focus just on him. That need to protect - to protect _her_ — wasn’t screaming anymore, but it was loud and ever-present.

_I cannot let that happen to you, you got that?_

She wasn’t sure quite what to do about it other than what had always come naturally. Her gloved hand reached out and lightly touched the fabric of Frank’s shirt.

Yes, she realized that when he’d used his body to protect her, he had touched her skin. Not just her gloved hands or shoulder, but her skin. Yes, he hadn’t passed out or died. She _knew_ that, but she’d gone almost six months between incidents which meant it was random and she wasn’t going to take a chance.

Not with anyone.

Not with him.

His lip twitched, just a tad. One could almost mistake it for a twitch of a smile. Almost. They got up and headed for Talia and Russo.

“Could you have done that to me?”

Frank and Karen looked at Russo, then at the dead man he was staring at. There was no doubt the soldier was dead. His skin was shallow and grayish, shriveled like a raisin Like his life had been sucked right out of him.

Talia, now looking much better, yanked at the man’s vest. “Are his clips useful?”

Bill knelt beside her and dug through the man’s gear. “You didn’t answer the question.” He pulled out a clip, checked it, then tossed it at Frank. “Talia!”

“What?” She held out the tactical vest to Karen. “I can’t stop every bullet.”

Karen opened her mouth, but Frank took the vest and started sliding it up her arm and over her trench. The vest fit with ease.

“It’s a good idea.” He tightened the buckles before she could even think to say no.

“Talia.”

“Clearly I didn’t so why does it matter?”

Russo shrugged. “Just wrapping my head around the fact that my new girlfriend is a life-sucking vampire-witch.”

Talia made a strangled noise, mouth opening then closing with a snap. “Getting way ahead of yourself there, hoss.”

“Am I though? Am I really?”

“Yes. No.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Siphoning takes power and discipline and intent. I’m not some idiot that can’t control their— ” Her mouth slammed shut, lips curling inward and cringed.

Karen knew that it was stress. It was screaming from all of them. Add the overtaxing of their powers, the distracting attraction Talia had to Billy Russo and what happened to Mahoney, well, it wasn’t all that surprising that one of them had said something in anger.

Karen _knew_ that Talia didn’t feel that way. She didn’t think Karen was an idiot with control issues. They had worked together for too long and been friends even longer, so Karen knew Talia. The fabric on her hands was a stark reminder that something was wrong with her. Karen scratched an imaginary itch.

She knew Talia hadn’t meant it.

But it hurt anyway.

She spun around and headed deeper into the park.

 

 

 _Oh._ Now Frank got it. The gloves. Her fear. It hadn’t been of him, he’d known that. Just never expected it to be _for_ him. What he didn’t understand was how there was any doubt she hand control of that thing she did. Without her telling them what to expect, he doubted they would have made it this far unscathed.

“Karen.”

Her back stiffened at the sound of his voice, then she turned to face him. Shoulders back and chin up and ready to take on the world. _Atta girl._ He opened his mouth, but her eyes grew wild.

“They’re here.”

 


	5. A Walk in the Park

“How many?”

Karen shook her head. “I’m not…I don’t…” She blinked rapidly. “I can’t be sure.”

“I’d like to know how the hell they’ve found out us so fast,” Bill said, coming up to them.

Talia pushed past Bill and grabbed Karen’s hands, completely unafraid. They stood looking at each other for a long second. Then broke apart.

“They have to be tracking us.” Talia looked at Bill. “Phones? Watches. Anything like that?”

Frank took off his watch and tossed it in the lake. Then looked at Bill.

“It’s a three thousand dollar watch.” He held it up like a trophy.

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

Bill sent Talia a wicked smile. “Aw, already thinking about buying me gifts.” He took the watch off and sent it flying into the darkened waters.

“I can always change my mind about killing you.” She glanced at Karen. “What am I missing?”

Karen shook her head. Frank couldn’t think of anything else. He sure should have thought about tracking devices.

Talia looked at Bill, then her eyes dropped. Two steps forward and she was yanking at his belt.

“Whoa.” Bill’s hands flew up, but not to stop her. “Not that I mind a woman who knows what she wants, but is now really the time and place?”

Talia griped the buckle, it melted and reshaped in her hand, leaving a tracker behind. Frank didn’t need to be told to get rid of his belt, but half wished that it was Karen who had taken it off him.

“Now what?” Frank’s eyes were on Karen, now standing very still, eyes unfocused, in what he was calling her ‘listening’ stance. It was also the moment she looked the most vulnerable. He stepped closer, covering her six.

“Whose poodle did you fuck,” Talia stood toe to toe with Bill, “to garner this much death? Drug lords who have an inside in the military don’t put this much effort to kill wayward sons.”

Bill’s eyes never left her face. “The Blacksmith.”

She recoiled, sitting back on her heels. “Shit. Shitshitshit.” Her hand flew to her mouth, teeth chipping away at nails and even Frank felt the wave of nervous energy pour out of her. The look she shared with Karen turned Frank’s blood cold.

“That’s the interference.” Karen’s cheek bloomed red, head bobbing up and down. “That’s why I’m having so much trouble.” She blinked once, twice and those blonde locks of hers did that thing they did. “Three. Two Inhumans and one,” her face tightened, “one is weird.”

“Wanna share?” Frank wanted to reach out to her, to tell her he wouldn’t anything happen. Not to her.

_Not on my watch._

“The Blacksmith is Inhuman, he is like us,” her hand moved in the space between her and Talia, “he’s powerful and rich and our personal Bogeyman.”

“Do you know who he is?”

Talia snorted. “We were going to ask you that. It started as a whispered name and then…”

“People like us stopped saying that name out of fear. He uses other Inhumans as his personal death squads. All there’s left is a trail of bodies and destruction.”

Shit. It was bad enough when the Blacksmith was just a drug lord using the military to mule drugs out of the Middle East, now he was some super-powered asshole with his own super-powered army. One that made these two kick-ass women hesitate.

“We move,” Frank said, grabbing Karen’s hand. She tried to take her hand back, and this time he understood why.

Frank had never been _that_ guy. He understood personal space, how his size or military background - hell, his ugly mug - could be intimidating for someone one smaller or weaker. He never pushed a woman out of her comfort zone.

But he held on tight to Karen’s hand. There was no fucking way he was going to let go. He wasn’t afraid of her power and was too god dammed stubborn to let it suck the life out of him. He was protecting this woman come hell or high water. Or she’d protect him from the other crazy super-powered assassins. It didn’t matter which. He wasn’t going to let her go.

She stopped tugging away, eyes dropping to their clasped hands, then back up to his. “They are separating. We need to go now.”

He didn’t have to be told twice. They walked along the trail, they backtracked and headed west. Turned and retraced their steps again. All to evade the hunters and avoid the civilians. Frank got a whiff of kettle corn and sugar. At least the carousel was closed. The last thing they needed was a bunch of kids to be caught in the middle of a shooting gallery. They were a spitting distance from Central Park West. From there it wouldn’t be hard to ‘borrow’ another car.

Karen cried out, yanking her hand out of his grip and fisting both hands against her forehead. She dropped to her knees. Before Frank could move, Talia screamed and fell to the ground.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were being attacked mentally. Either the assassin had attacked all of them and he and Bill were just too insensitive, or he had crippled the two people who could pinpoint his location. Frank was betting on the latter.

Bill stepped in front of the crumpled Talia, urging her to move to the nearest cover. She tried but didn’t get far. Her scream pierced the night sky. Whatever was happening, she was fighting, and she was losing.

“Frank!” Bill dropped to one knee and raised his weapon, scanning the area.

Yeah. They were in deep shit. Frank moved beside Karen, who was struggling to breathe, blood started to pour out of nose in a steady stream. She was fighting a different battle, but it cost her just the same as Talia. They were dying right in front of him.

Twenty shadows came out of the trees. Where the fuck had they come from? It was supposed to be three. They were outnumbered and outgunned.

“One shot. One kill!” Schoonover had taught them that. The man was a scumbag, but the mantra wasn’t.

“Oorah!”

Frank focused on the immediate threat, the shadows that were getting closer. He just kept firing. _Pop. Pop, pop, pop, pop pop._ He knew he was hitting the targets. He knew Bill was hitting his without looking. The problem was that they just kept coming. None dropped. That was not possible. No amount of body armor could withstand that many bullets. He went full-auto and blew through one clip. Then another. But they kept coming.

They weren’t human.

Frank reached for another clip but found empty space. He was out, and now all he had was a very expensive club and his knife and a horde of non-humans. He reached inside his boot. Took three quick breaths and let out a war cry. He ran towards the monsters.

He swung at the nearest soldier, and the gun passed right through him. Frank stumbled, head jerking back. He tried the blade and a kick but nothing connected. The mass of soldiers about to overwhelm him had no faces. They were just black shadows masquerading as people.

They weren’t corporeal. Just mental manifestation of what he had feared. Being outmanned and outgunned. Unable to protect Karen.

Fucking illusions.

Frank’s hand went right through the nearest soldier. He had wasted three clips and left Karen’s side because of a god dammed trick. Rage exploded through his body. He focused it. And used it.

He saw the real threat now. A man and a woman. Holding god dammed hands. Then they separated. The man focused on Bill who was fighting what looked like a walking tree trunk. Frank had to get Bill to focus on the man, not the phantasm, but before he could say a word. The illusion made contact with the side of Bill’s head and sent him flying.

Some hallucinations had substance. Good to know. The man continued following the monster as it stomped towards Bill who was already up into a fighting crouch.

Frank wanted to help. If he hadn’t blown his clips earlier, he could’ve attacked the man. Kill the magician, kill the magic.

Another scream was torn out of Talia. The woman, now gripping Talia’s hair and dragging her towards Karen, had to be the one controlling whatever was happening to them.

There was no choice. Karen and Talia were stronger in dealing with the super-power bullshit. He had to break whatever spell they were under.

“Stay alive, Bill.” Frank sprinted towards the women. There was no plan other than bulldoze the fuck out of that bitch and lay her out.

He jumped a bench. Thirty yards. Boots pounded on the cement. Twenty. She now had Karen’s hair and yanked. Ten. He was close enough to hear the woman now.

“You betray your kind for _humans_? You disgust me.”

She looked up at him, and Frank missed a step. It was a goddamned teenager. Silver eyes flashed. And he went careening into the ground. His body skidded across the concrete walkway leaving behind bits of flesh, cotton, and blood. Lots of blood. He rolled once, twice, more. Tried his best to protect his neck from the force of the crash.

It took a few seconds to get his breath back when the laws of physics caught up to his body. He wanted more time but didn’t have the luxury. There was nothing broken. He’d live for a few minutes longer.

Frank pushed himself up. Every muscle screamed, but his brain was trained to ignore that type of pain.

“Look, your little human is trying to rescue you.” The girl pulled hard enough that bloody tears sprung from Karen and Talia. “You couldn’t even get close enough to strike me. Pathetic. I’ll deal with you later.”

Frank’s mind exploded in pain. He felt each cell being seared in intense heat. It was crippling and drove him to his knees. That was what Karen and Talia were going through. They had been going through it for devastating minutes. He might not make it seconds. His mind was being ripped open and torn apart.

The scream rose from deep within his chest.

_The only way out is to find something that you care about._

Karen’s strangled sob pierced through his pain.

_Have you found something to do that for you?_

Frank forced his leg to move, to lift, to plant a foot on the ground. He pushed himself up using his hands and that stubborn god-given will.

“Look at the little soldier boy.”

Pain is a state of mind. It couldn’t get worse. It did. The new wave of blistering heat drove him down again to one knee, his palm crashed into the cement. It was the only thing keeping him from falling on his face.

You can train the mind to get used to anything. It just takes time and patience. If it doesn’t kill you, you can get used to it.

He had to distract the woman long enough for…

_Karen. Karen. Karen._

He pushed himself up.

“Your pain threshold,” the girl’s voice sounded breathy and excited, deliberately savoring each word, “is higher than I’ve ever seen. Are you sure you’re human?”

Frank opened his eyes but saw only red. It was a sea of blood. His blood. Vessels had burst in his eyes,  hot streaks flowed from his nose, his ears and down the back of his throat. He opened his mouth, but only blood came out.

_Sunshine._

He saw a flash of a blade. Atta girl.

“Fuck.” Blood bubbled around his lips. “You.”

 

 

_Frank. Frank. Frank._

He was the only thought running through her mind the minute it had been ripped open by Agony, a sixteen-year-old Inhuman assassin with over fifty confirmed kills. STAKE had a file on her, of course. They had the crime scenes and autopsy reports of her victims. Karen knew how Agony’s power worked. Had spent long hours studying it. So similar to Karen’s that they could be family. Karen knew how to methodically rip someone’s mind open for the sheer joy of it. She could also kick puppies and squash ladybugs, but it didn’t mean she did it.

Agony got off on the torture. It was written in black and white by one of the profilers. She alone would have been a formidable adversary. But Agony never worked alone. Only with Illusion, her twin brother. Together, they could torture their victims for hours with an endless circle of pain and false hope, terror and deception. In the end, the victims would beg to be killed, if they could talk at all.

Agony might have been able to torture Karen or Talia, at least for a little while if they’d been caught alone and unaware. But she didn’t have enough power to take both of them out of a fight and keep them out, not for this long. Someone was helping. Someone other than Illusion. It was the only explanation. That someone could only feed Agony so much power before the connection had to recharge. That certainty allowed Karen to plan how to fight her way out from under the ocean of pain.

_Sunshine._

The roar of rage reverberated through the park. She felt it in her bones. It became part of her. Or maybe it had always been part of her, and it was just now being awakened.

_I_ _’ll come for you._

He was willing to die to save her. He would die a horrible, painful death if she didn’t break free. She would not allow that to happen. She was not going to lose him. _Not again._

The grip on her hair - and psyche - wavered. God. He was trying to fight Agony’s will and distract her. The pleasure coating Agony’s voice broke through the pain.

_Are you sure you_ _’re human?_

Agony’s hold on Karen shifted. A tiny fissure appeared. Karen dove into it head first with everything that was Karen Page. It took a Herculean effort to move her leg closer to her hand. Her fingers slipped the hilt once, twice. _Frank. Got it._ She didn’t aim just swung the blade. When blessed steel hit flesh, Karen pushed it deeper, skimming bone.

Agony screamed.

The blade had hit her mid-thigh. It had missed the femoral artery, but Karen hadn’t been trying to hit it. She did shove until the hilt of the blade was flushed against denim.

They were free, all three of them. And they were alive. It took Karen precious seconds to ride out the lingering pain. Talia recovered faster. She had the sense of mind to yank Agony down between them, then she dug her nails into the younger woman’s hair.

“Scream again, bitch!”

Talia was in control now. Of herself and Agony. Karen felt the push of healing. It was the balance to Agony’s power. She could do both, of course. But it was Talia who was healing Karen and Frank through Agony.

Karen wiped the blood from her face, her hair was sticky with it. She half-crawled, half-slid across the cement to Frank. He was on all fours, breathing heavily.

“Frank.” She reached for his sleeve, but he gripped her gloved hand and looked up. _Jesus._ He looked raw. The whites of his eyes were bathed in red. The determination and strength he had to fight Agony’s control were immeasurable. And he was human. He had saved their lives by sheer stubbornness alone. She’d kiss him if she weren’t afraid it’d kill him.

“We make quite a pair.” His voice was low and tinged with pain. “Can I kill that bitch now?” His voice strengthened with each word.

“Let Talia drain Agony first.” Karen would shed no tears when that little hooligan was dead. Screw her age. Someone with her record didn’t deserve live. Karen was done allowing monsters to get second chances.

Frank blinked, and there was white in his eyes again. “Agony? You’ve got to be shitting me.” Wiping his face with the bottom of the Henley just served to smear the blood into a macabre face paint. He was still covered in it, but at least it wasn’t streaming out of him any longer, and he looked less _peeled._

“Brother!”

Karen and Frank turned in time to see Talia dig _into_ the skull of the person who used to look like Agony. The thing in Talia’s grip was a gray-skinned raisin who bore little resemblance to the young woman who had tortured them. Her once dark hair was now brittle and frail strands of cotton candy. Her skin slouched off in wisps. She looked human by only the most generous standards.

“Call. Him. Again.”

This time, ‘brother’ came out as a rough wet gurgle.

 

 

Frank’s muscles tingled as blood circulated through his body again. The prickling sensation was better than having blood streaming _out_ of him. The remnants of pain reminded him that he was alive. So was Karen. What that bitch - Agony - had done was mental, not physical so the muscles recovered from the inconvenience of lack of blood flow first. It would take his mind a while to recover. He’d been flayed him alive, or at least that was the sensation. Pieces of him ripped off. Agony had stripped the person that he was like a goddamn onion.

He looked for Bill, finding him still fighting that walking tree bark not thirty feet away. It looked like a pretty even fight. Frank stood and took two steps.

Karen’s strangled gasp had him spinning around and freezing in place. Any knee-jerk sympathy that the boy’s appearance might have elicited fizzled as the little shit put a Ka-Bar to Karen’s neck and pressed. A streak of red stained ivory skin.

Frank’s arms went up, palm out. “You don’t need her, kid.” He made eye contact with her. “You’re gonna be fine.” Thousands of scenarios ran through his head, and none had a good outcome. Not unless the kid moved the knife away from the carotid artery. “Listen, kid, you need to let her go.”

Silver eyes flashed. “OK.”

The knife slid through flesh like hot butter. Karen gasped, her blue eyes huge and panicky. Blood poured out of the grisly wound, bubbling as she tried to speak, but no words came out. She took half of an unbalanced step towards him, then crumbled to the ground.

_I can_ _’t let that happen to you._

Sudden emptiness whipped into his core. That familiar sickly-sweet coppery taste flooded his mouth. Lungs started to burn from the lack of oxygen, but he didn’t know how to breathe. He swallowed or tried to, but his throat was closed tight. The muscles moved in a rudderless fashion as his mind ceased to function.

Panic engraved those bluer than blue eyes staring at him, unseeing. There was a faint echo of discomfort when loose pebbles embedded themselves into the clothed skin of his knees.

He. Failed her. She was dead because of him.

He’d been wrong. There was a pain worse than anything Agony could have imagined. And it exploded out of him.

 

 

Illusion’s grip on her throat was screaming inexperience. Karen bet that he had never thrown a punch or had to defend himself in his life. It was understandable if you thought about it. His power was mental. The biggest, strongest, best fighter couldn’t win against Illusion. Not if he saw them first.

He never let anyone get that close to him. Other than Agony. Until now.

Karen could throw a punch as soon as she could walk. Her mother taught her because she was a girl and had to learn to defend herself. Not expect _anyone_ to come and rescue her. The princess rescues her own damn self. But Penelope Page also feared that one day her beautiful little girl would be able to cause physical damage with her mind. Able to kill with a mere thought. She prayed that if Karen could defend herself physically, it would buy her daughter time to mature into a power that scared Penelope more than anything in the world.

So Karen learned to throw a punch. Learned to box, which her father just shook his head and donated all of the tiaras he’d bought the minute they’d known they were having a girl. She learned to run and to turn the other cheek - most of the time.

Even before SHIELD trained her in hand-to-hand, she knew how to escape an unwanted grasp. She even managed to escape Jack Rollins’ hold in her field test. This boy was no Jack Rollins.

Her hand came up to grip Illusion’s forearm. Then Frank started talking in that tone of voice the powers that be trained everyone to talk to when facing a rabid criminal. Which confused Karen because this close, Illusion was anything but dangerous.

“Listen, kid, you need to let her go.”

Illusion tightened his grip and power rolled through her.

“OK.” He spun them around and faced Talia. “You let her go. You fix her, and you let her go.”

His voice trembled and Karen almost felt sorry for him. Almost. She made herself remember all those autopsy photos.

The boy didn’t realize that there was no fixing his sister. Even if Talia wanted to, and Karen knew with every fiber of her being that Talia didn’t, there would be no fixing that sack of shriveled flesh.

Karen wasn’t about to feel bad about it either. _Damn._ She was going to have to make a call to Dr. Gardner when all this was over.

The explosion made Karen stumble, but Illusion caught her. The fathomless pain had the strength of a thousand suns and weight of a million moons. Dizziness and confusion twisted and folded around her. She had to blink several times because what was in front of her was terrifying. It was a storm. A monster.

“Do it, I said!” Illusion was still talking to Talia.

Couldn’t they see it? Sense the danger?

“Talia,” Karen called out to her partner, but Talia was too far gone into Agony to come out on her own.

The third Inhuman. The one she couldn’t get a firm grasp on. It must be his storm. And now it was too late to escape it.

Karen took a deep breath and waited. Focused like the Ancient One had taught her and prepared for the oncoming storm. This was going to hurt. It crashed into them - her - like a tsunami but didn’t carry her away. There was a familiarity she couldn’t place. Even as it roared around her, she felt safe.

_Sunshine._

“Frank?” Karen’s eyes shifted to him, growing wide when she saw the blank look and slack jaw.

He was the storm. How could she not see it? It felt like him, smelled like him. And it never hurt her. Agony had put him through hell, and now it was Illusion’s turn. The victims they’d left alive, because that was also part of their service, had been shattered empty shells of flesh and bone.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

There was only one way to end his torture.

_Do it now Karen, do it now!_

Karen embraced the storm. Then leaned back, resting her head on Illusion’s shoulder. He turned to her in confusion and surprise. Her cheek brushed against his lips as she turned into his body embracing this poor, misguided, psychotic boy with both arms. Holding him. Cheek to cheek.

_One Tesseract. Two-_

Illusion collapsed into her arms. He slid bonelessly to the ground. Dead way before he even hit the ground.

Karen pivoted on a heel and with two long steps, dropped to her knees. “Frank? Frank?” She gave his shoulders a quick shake, and he looked up dazed…and blank. “No. Nonononono. Come on, Marine, you are not going to do this to me.”

She pictured that storm she’d embraced. All that power and strength. Delved deep within it. Karen sent Talia a silent plea.

“Please, Frank.” Karen wrapped her arms around Frank Castle, careful to avoid skin contact, and opened all of herself to him.

_One Tesseract. Two Tesseract. Three Tesseract. Four Tesseract. Five Tesseract._

“Karen,” he said in a strangled half-whisper, half-plea, his head buried into her shoulder, his arms wrapped around her, tight. Finger digging into her hips.

She pulled away first. Had to. Already having maintained contact way longer than what she’d considered safe. When his eyes met hers, they were clear, and he was _there._

“You’re alive.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing. Needing that tactile confirmation.

“Yeah.” She covered his hand for a beat, then two, before disentangling their fingers.

Frank nodded. “OK.”

“OK.”

“Franky,” Russo said appearing behind Frank, “we got suckered.” He was holding his right side in an awkward angle that suggested shoulder dislocation and, at a minimum, bruised ribs. There were already several contusions blooming along the right side of his face. “Everything but that bark thing was fake.”

“Yeah.”

How a man could put so much anger behind an innocuous word Karen didn’t know, but a strong part of her wanted to find out. She glanced at the corpse behind her. “Illusion.”

Bill paid the corpse a cursory glance, then turned to Frank. “You look worse than he does.”

“He-e-e’s going…To eat…You alive.” The thing that used to be Agony said with enough power to get their attention. “All. Of. You.” She choked-laughed. “Will scream.”

Talia’s fingers sank deeper inside the monster. “But you won’t be here to see it.” Her fingers sank until they met, and the person, once known as Agony, turned to ash and crumbled.

The last healing wave poured into them. Russo jerked and hissed, the dislocated shoulder popped back in place. He pressed his hand against the side he’d been cradling and didn’t flinch.

“That really should freak me out more than it does.” He rotated his shoulder a few times, did a couple of torso twists and flexed his slightly swollen jaw.

Talia, stepping on the scattered dust, walked to them, glanced at Karen and Frank, then turned to Bill. “Feel better?”

“Yeah,” Russo chinned in Frank’s direction, “now if you could fix his ugly mug, we’ll be golden.”

Talia’s lip tugged up. A roar shook the park. Talia’s hands shot up in time to shield all four of them from a long stream of pure energy. The blast started to push Talia back, Russo came up behind her and held her steady. The energy bounced against barrier hitting the carousel and surrounding trees.

Brick and plastic and glass exploded into a million pieces of debris, now heading straight for them from the opposite direction of the beam of energy.

Talia turned in a half-twist _,_ swinging her left arm outstretched, palm up. The debris bounced off harmlessly against the new barrier.

Streams of blood began to pour out of Talia.

The bombardment stopped, and the sudden silence was deafening.

“Who invited Godzilla?” Bill held on to Talia as she stumbled into his arms.

 

 


	6. And Then Godzilla Showed Up

The name fits. The _thing_ was a six-plus-foot version of the King of Monsters. Scales and everything. Breathing a fucking stream of pure destructive energy.

Frank grabbed Karen’s hand. “Run.”

They scrambled up, running down the path, Frank half-pulling, half-shoving Karen along. Russo had draped Talia’s arm around his neck and half-carried down and across the walkway.

“The tunnel,” Frank called over his shoulder.

 Karen stumbled to a stop on top of an embankment. It was a doable ten-foot drop.“That’s a death trap if he catches up to us there.”

“We’re not hiding in it, we’re going through it. Can you slow it down?”

Karen took a calming breath and reached out with her mind. She found it cold and foreign and unfamiliar to anything she’d ever experience before. Then the monster turned it’s attention to her. Knew who and what she was. The prize he’d been promised, and he had plans. She recoiled and staggered into Frank.

“It’s not human.” It’s power incalculable, and it wanted _her_.

“Figures.” Frank checked the drop into the street below. “Come on. I’ll catch you.” He slid-jumped down and landed on the empty street with a loud _oomph._ “I got you, Karen.”

She never had any doubt otherwise. Russo and Talia caught up just as Karen started her slide when her foot hit the barrier, she took her leap — and Frank caught her.

“Frank, you’ll—”

Talia shoved Russo down mid-sentence, he started to slide and looked up in time to see her jerk a step back as three spikes pierced her mid-section.

Pain and shock hit Karen like a sledgehammer. “Talia!”

Russo pulled Talia down, cradling her down the slide. “Frank!”

“Got her.” Frank put Talia down, and Karen supported her head. Russo jumped down and knelt next to Karen.

“Kare.” Talia’s voice was thick with pain.

Karen had to take and compartmentalize the pain. It was different than what they’d gone through with Agony and in any other day, this wouldn’t be so challenging, but they were still mentally ‘sore’ from what they’d gone through earlier.

“I got you.” Karen envisioned the power of Frank’s storm. She still didn’t know exactly what that was, but it had helped her focus and needed that now because this was going to hurt.

Talia took a shuddering breath. Then screamed. The spikes oozed out of their wounds, sliding across her stomach and now harmlessly to the ground. Blood continued to run like a steady stream, and now it was impossible to determine if the blood coming out of Talia’s mouth was because of the surge of power or due to the physical injury.

She wasn’t the only one bleeding. Talia couldn’t pull the spikes out and heal the wounds in the throes of pain, so Karen took all of it.

It was devastating. It burned, and it _hurt_. The wound from Agony had been sharp and precise. Surgery with a psycho wielding a scalpel. This was a bull in a china shop. Surgery with a chainsaw. Karen’s body shuddered as her mind anchored itself against the pain.

_The only way out of this is to find something you care about._

That storm — all that strength and rage and determination and loyalty — it was still with her. She wrapped around herself like a comforting blanket.

_Frank._

 

Frank wanted a gun. Needed a gun. Fuck. Any weapon would do at this point as long as he had a fucking human target. He didn’t know how to deal with all this Agony, walking lizard, super-power bullshit. He could only watch as these brave, strong, stubborn women bled for them. And it was killing him. He was a protector and couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

He knew Karen was afraid of touching him. Touching anyone and Illusion’s body was a good example of why. But Frank wasn’t afraid of Death. They were old friends, and Frank was just too ornery to die.

He knelt behind Karen and wrapped his arms around her, chest to back. It was the only support he had at the moment, and he gave all he had as Karen did whatever thing she did that Frank didn’t understand and couldn’t explain but needed it to work at this moment. Karen shuddered in his arms.

_You got this, sunshine._

Talia gasped. “Fuck. Me.”

“You literally have the worst timing.” Bill cupped her cheek, then helped her sit up. “Rain check?”

She groaned-grimaced, but held on tight to him, then turned. “Kare?”

Karen’s gloved hand brushed against Frank’s forearms, still wrapped around her. And hugging her now felt a bit like a douche move. His arms dropped limply to his sides, and he scooted away from her. Frank rubbed his face, trying to wipe away the sudden heat.

“Karen?” Talia reached out, and Karen smiled.

_Pure sunshine._

“I got you,” Karen said, gripping onto Talia’s forearm like it was an old habit.

Talia nodded. “We need to keep going. That thing is slow but relentless.” Talia got up with Bill’s help.

He threw her arm around his neck and started trotting down the tunnel. “You really should romance me first before taking advantage of me.”

Frank couldn’t meet Karen’s eyes. The weight of her gaze felt like a caress. Warm and soft.

“Frank?”

He was lost in those blue-blue eyes of hers. Her tongue darted out, bathing that full, biteable lower lip. He zeroed in on that. How could he not? Some very inappropriate thoughts - especially when being chased by some monster — appeared in his mind in full-blown Technicolor.

Karen’s cheeks pinked. “ _Who_ are you?”

His brow furrowed. The shrubbery rustled and he looked up in time to push Karen towards the supporting wall as the blue stream of lizard fire struck where they had been. Frank covered Karen’s body with his own. The blue fire wasn’t really a fire at all. More like a million tiny lighting streaks gathered together into a swarm of death and destruction. It was breathtakingly beautiful. And it was melting the asphalt. _Melting it._

If it weren’t for the woman in his arms, he’d prefer to be in Afghanistan right now. Things were a lot simpler in the scorching heat of the desert with insurgents trying to kill him. At least they were human.

He waited for Godzilla to ‘reload.’ The second the lightning stream stopped, Frank was on his feet, pulling Karen up and pushing her down the tunnel. There was a fleshy _thud_ sound of something very heavy landing on the asphalt.

Frank never believed in the whole looking back when you’re running away. It didn’t make sense. Not only did it slow you down, but you also ran the risk of falling flat on your face and then whatever you were running from would be on top of you.

But there was a wet sound of meat and bone opening up. So he looked. The goddamned lizard man had a tail that opened up, not like a fan, but like ripe fruit being squeezed. That’s where the spikes came from. Godzilla whipped the tail, and they became flying, deadly missiles.

Frank found a sudden burst of speed, grabbed Karen by the waist and pushed them both out the tunnel.

With extraordinary grace considering how injured she was, Talia’s arms danced through the air and brought the wood and metal and concrete of the walkway down into the street, burying the spikes.

“I don’t think that’s going to stop him long.”

Karen was doubled over, trying to catch her breath. Frank didn’t do the double over, but the blazing heat of his lungs spread to the rest of his internal organs and a torrent of adrenalin flooded his body.

“No,” Talia said, “but this might slow him down.”

Debris from the walkway floated up and exploded towards Godzilla. He’d recovered enough to shoot out another beam of lighting, destroying some of the missiles, but not all. Boulders crashed into and battered his body, again and again until he was encased in asphalt and metal and wood. Lizardman was entombed under the mass of debris. Then that mass constricted. Maybe not enough to crush him, but enough to make things uncomfortable.

Talia, hands covering the injured stomach, dropped to the ground, face coated in layers of blood.

Karen was next to her in an instant. “Let me help you.”

“You have to take them to Micro.” The words were labored. Talia used the inside of her sweater to wipe her face.

Karen nodded. “That’s a good idea. We can—”

“No, Kare.” Talia sat back on her heels, green eyes flashing. “You. You take them to Micro.”

“What the hell do you think you’re going to do?” Bill squatted beside her, jaw clenched so tight, Frank thought he was seconds from breaking it.

“That won’t hold him long. I’ll buy you as much time as I can.”

Goddamn stubborn, brave, insane women.

“Hell no,” Karen’s hands were clenched into fists that were ready to punch Talia, “you don’t have enough power. You stay. I stay.”

These women would be the death of him.

“Take mine,” Bill’s hand grasped her shoulder, “like you did earlier.”

Talia’s face softened. “If we had time, I’d teach you. But it doesn’t work that way. An untrained mind can only take those hits occasionally.” Her lips tugged up, and she tapped his chest. “I hit this again so soon, and I’ll burn you out permanently.”

Bill grabbed her hand. “Worth it.”

Talia shook her head. “Go Karen. This is the only way, and you know it.”

But it wasn’t.

“Take it from me.” All things considered, Frank had felt worse. Other than Agony, this wasn’t as bad as Kandahar. Weirder, though.

“You look like you’ve been hit by a truck, Frank.”

He didn't doubt it. But this wasn't a beauty contest. “I'm fine.”

Talia and Karen shared one of their looks that spoke volumes in silence. He wanted to know if it was an agreement or an argument.

“It’s not without risk.” Karen full lips pressed into a tight line. “Even the first time.”

Frank had never had the pretty words like Bill. It wasn’t his thing, and he was okay with that. But every once in a while, Bill played Cyrano to his Christian.

“Worth it.”

Bright - and pained - green eyes drilled into him, looking for any doubt. “I can still tap your tank, and you may not come of it.”

The mass of debris started to rattle, and Frank knew that they were running out of time.

“I get it. You don’t know me. But I’m not the one that dies. I’m the one that does the killing.”

Bill rubbed his face. “Do it. Because we aren’t leaving you behind. It’s not how Marines roll.”

Talia’s fingertips traced Frank’s jaw in a hesitant caress, then soft lips met his, and he saw stars.

Frank considered himself a simple man. He loved his country, his friends and football. He treated women with respect and was harboring a serious crush on a beautiful blonde with a spine of steel. But he was a red-blooded heterosexual male and Talia was one beautiful woman.

The intentions were pure. Share whatever reserves he had with the woman likely to save their lives from an overgrown gecko. Power rushed through him the minute her lips touched his. She tasted of copper and sweetness and coffee. His breath hitched when she started to pull the energy out of him. But he’d liked that surge and wasn’t eager to give it up so easily. When she pressed a warm tongue against his lips, his fingers dug deep into her hips, he opened up and met her with reserves he didn’t know he had.

So he hadn’t intended to enjoy himself, especially considering he was kissing a woman he’d started thinking of as his best friend’s girl in front of another woman he wanted to get to know better. A lot better.

What was that saying about the road to hell?

“Yeah, yeah,” Bill pulled Frank back, “that’s enough.”

Frank blinked, more than just a little punch-drunk. _Holy shit._ No wonder Bill was smitten. Frank glanced at a poker-faced Karen.

“That was something, Captain Castle.” Talia’s eyes were pitch black again, dark, lustrous hair flowed around her, and she glowed even under the caked layers of blood.

It was good for his ego.

“Good luck with that one,” Talia told Karen, a wicked smile spreading across slightly swollen lips. “Shield them.”

Karen’s eyes widened. “I don’t have enough—

“You have him,” Talia said. “Use him.”

And Frank realized she was talking about _him._

“What am I? Chopped liver?”

Talia raked her nails over Bill’s jaw. “I’ll eat you later.”

She took three steps and lighting looking energy beams come out of her hands pushing her up into the air. Streaks of energy now come from her feet and hands as she walked on the lightning .

“Holy shit.”

“She can fly?”

Godzilla’s tomb burst open with a roar and an energy blast that launched debris everywhere. Spikes shot up at Talia only to be melted by the fierce glow surrounding her.

“Know what happens to a lizard when it gets struck by lightning?” She threw everything at the gecko.

 

Karen was terrified of that rush of power that was leaking from Talia. In all of their time together - and there had been plenty of battles - Karen had never seen Talia quite so…glowy. All that power had to go somewhere, fast.

The only option for that release was Talia blowing up Central Park in order to destroy the alien Godzilla.

There wasn’t time to outrun the impending blast. The only option left was for Karen to create a shield to protect all three of them. Under normal circumstances, creating a shield - for one - would be challenging. Building one that protects three people? That takes planning, luck, and power. A lot of power. Talia had created a shield that had protected all four of them from Godzilla’s energy beam. It had been impressive. But matter manipulation was Talia’s power. She’d been honing her skills from the moment she was born.

Karen’s power was mental manipulation. Yes, she could melt someone’s brain from the inside, but that was still controlling the mind. Talia could burst organs from the inside, control the elements and might even be able to control atoms. Karen couldn’t. Karen’s shields were protection against powers like Agony’s and Illusion’s. Had she known they were the enemy, she would have created shields for all four of them, and they would have been armored to the gills.

The shield Talia was demanding from Karen was a physical shield, and Karen wasn’t ready. Not by a long shot. She also didn’t know what to make of Talia’s suggestion of using Frank. Use him how?

“Hey. You got this.”

Her heart fluttered at the sound of his voice and that absolute confidence in her. And those eyes of his. She’d witnessed her best friend do her best impersonation of a soul-sucker - yes, they really do exist regardless of what Strange says - on the man that Karen kinda liked. A lot. She wasn’t jealous of Talia, that would be ridiculous, but maybe there was a kernel of envy. It would figure that Karen’s power couldn’t get juiced by kissing attractive men.

She grabbed Russo’s arm, wrapping it around her waist. “Hold tight and don’t let go.”

“I’ve had drunken fantasies that started out like this.” He winks at her, the cheek, and she can’t help but smile back.

She can’t look at Frank because her heart is thundering through her chest at being this close to him and knowing she was going to get closer. She’s afraid her eyes will give her away.

“Don’t touch my skin.” She was warning both of them. The last thing she needed tonight is to go through all this and end up with two dead Marines who had the misfortune to touch her. There already had been more touching in the last few hours than she’d had in the previous six months. Her luck was bound to run out.

“Will it kill me?” Russo’s voice is low and sexy, her brain recognized that, but her palms are tingling at the contact with Frank.

“It just might.” She couldn’t quite take out the bite and fear from the words.

“Hell of a way to go.”

 

Bill. Always the fucking charmer. “Shut your trap.”

Frank was trying to get her to look at him. He had to make sure those blue-blue eyes weren’t angry or disappointed. He’d gotten a little carried away with that kiss, but it had been for a good cause. A really good cause considering Talia was now shooting lightning bolts better than Zeus.

Karen’s gloved hands were light on his shoulders, but they burned through the layers of cotton and searing into his skin. He had protected her with his body twice, but there was no time to enjoy the feel of her. There was really no time now either, but he leaned in just a tad, and vanilla and honey rushed in and through him. 

Frank had overstepped a couple of times tonight. Invaded her personal space more times than he could count. Granted most of it had been and, still was, a life or death situation, but that was not a real excuse. And this wasn’t either.

He was too close, and she’d warned them not to touch her skin. If he’d been a gentleman, nothing would have happened, but instead, he’d been focusing on the feel of her touch and the scent of her hair. So when she turned to face him. Frank was just too close.

Her cheek brushed his in the merest whisper of a touch. Karen’s gasp was the last thing Frank heard before his world stopped. Everything stopped in deafening silence. Then the world exploded.

His body was thrown twenty feet away and, he was man enough to admit it, he lost consciousness. For a few seconds, there was nothing but darkness. His eyes blinked open, and he was flat on his back. He wasn’t twenty feet away. Her touch hadn’t killed him just dropped him on his ass.

“Frank?” Karen was standing over him.

“You pack quite a wallop, sunshine. How long was I out?” Frank pushed himself up and froze when he saw the three of them, Bill, Karen and himself, still entangled a spitting distance away, right in front of him.

Must have been knocked real hard to have an out of body experience. Though he’d never heard of one where there were two people. Except Illusion had messed with his mind earlier and maybe that little shit still was.

He turned to the Karen beside him. “You real or just in my mind?”

“I’m trying to figure that out,” her head tilted to the side. “Who are you?”

“That’s the second time you’ve asked me that today, sunshine.”

A smile hitched her lips. “Because I’m trying to figure you out.”

“Not much to figure, in my opinion.” He reached out for her, but she flinched back, and he dropped his hand. “Real.”

“What?”

“If you were just in my mind, we’d be doing more than just touching.” Then he realized what he’s said. Smooth Castle, real smooth.

The flush blossomed from her cheeks down to her neck. “I warned you not to touch me.”

“Looks to me like we’re still touching.” He nodded at their _other_ location.

“I killed Illusion touching a lot less of him.” Fear flashed through those blue-blue eyes of hers.

He could tell her he’s hard to kill, but he didn’t think she’d believe it. Or he could do a Bill. His head dipped as the smile tugged at his lip.

“Worth it.”

Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to choke back the laugh. There it was. Frank couldn’t deny that making her laugh made all of this crazy ass night worth it. If he was about to buy the farm, he was going to milk whatever time he had left with her.

“I don’t even know your last name.”

She smiled. “Page. Karen Page.”

“So, where are we, Special Agent Karen Page?” He didn’t care. Just wanted her to keep talking so he could bask in the sunshine.

“This,” she pointed between them, “is me. My power. But I’ve never brought anyone else along.” She studied him for a long second, then shook her head. “I’ve probably already started bleeding.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s up with that anyway? Surprised the two of you haven’t passed out yet from blood loss.”

“Its a physical response to the mental strain.” She shrugged. “It looks worse than it is.” She looked away and down at her feet, long, elegant fingers absently rubbing her thigh.

Yeah. Frank wasn’t buying it. “You’re going to tap out.”

Her eyes snapped up, lips pressing into a thin line and nodded. “Soon.”

“And the longer we’re here,” he ran his hand down his face, “the worse it is for you, right?”

She avoided looking at him. “Never play poker, Page.”

“We have time before it gets bad.”

He nodded, lip twisting in a crooked half-smile. It was just his luck. He meets a woman like her when a drug lord is after his head, and one or both of them could die at any moment.

“Why are we here?”

“We,” she pointed at him, “aren’t supposed to be, but I’m trying to figure out a way to kill Godzilla,” she gestured behind her, “without having Talia blow up Central Park because I can’t create a shield fast enough, strong enough to protect us.”

Frank forgot about lizard man, now frozen mid-battle with Talia.

“She always glow like that?”

Karen bit back a smile. “Fishing for compliments?”

His ears tinged pink, and he couldn't quite meet her eyes. “About that kiss—”

“I don’t blame you,” Karen shrugged, “she’s a great kisser.”

It took a full five seconds for Frank to process those word and their meaning. An image flashed in his head, and he wanted to ask. He knew that she knew that he wanted to ask, but his lips clamped down, refusing the urge to say the utterly inappropriate thing his mind was thinking.

“She said to use you, but I don’t know how.”

He ducked his head and snuck a peek at her knowing full well that he couldn’t hide that shit-eating grin if his life depended on it.

“Do you have a death wish?” Her face pinched tight, but she couldn’t hold scold and tried to smother the laugh bursting from her lips. “If you say ‘worth it’ I swear to Christ I’ll feed you to Godzilla myself.”

He didn’t try to hide the smile that spread across his entire face. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re not Inhuman, I know the markers, but you’re not just human either. I can’t figure you out, Frank Castle.”

“Who I’ve always been,” he answered with a shrug, “and until tonight it didn’t involve psycho teenagers with superpowers or overgrown geckos.”

They smiled at each other, held it for an extra second, then both looked away. Jesus Christ, he felt like a goddamn teenager all over again. They were running out of time, and both knew it.

“When this is done,” - assuming they didn’t die in this park - “you wanna get something to eat?”

Her smile was blinding. “You asking me on a date, Castle? In the middle of a life or death battle with a monster?”

“You’re the one that stopped the world, Karen.”

She bit her lower lip again and damn if it wasn’t giving him ideas. She nodded. “OK.”

“OK.” He wanted to kiss her but knew she’d freak out. Still, even if it killed him, he bet it’d be worth it.

“I didn’t stop time,” she said, cheeks pink again, “it’s more like opening a pocket dimension where time runs differently.”

He nodded as if he understood.  He didn’t, but it was about her, so he cared. “And what can you do in this different dimension?”

“Figure out how to take out a monster with the power of the sun?”

He’d meant to same something clever. “Your nose.”

Karen reached up, and her fingers came off red. They were out of time.

“How do you stop the sun?” There was a tremble in her voice, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

“He has to reload.” Brilliant Castle. Just fucking brilliant. “He’s gotta be pulling it out of somewhere.”

Karen just stared at him for a full five seconds, then closed her eyes and a wave of heat crashed over him, making him stagger. When she opened her eyes, he knew why. Those blue-blue eyes of hers were gone. It was the opposite of Talia, complete whiteness that stared right through him.

“Destroy the portal, Talia.”

“Kar-”

The world snapped back so fast he had whiplash. Karen’s cheek brushed against his, and he staggered from the power of it. She pulled back, looking at him with those white on white eyes.

“I warned you not to touch me.”

There was a brilliant light, a roar, and an explosion. Frank Castle didn’t experience any of it.

 


	7. Resupply

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, thank you for reading. Your comments are gold. Second, this chapter is a loooong and overindulgent, but what can I say? They kinda needed a break before the next catastrophe. And there HAS been a ton of blood. ;) Third, as always, feel free to drop me a line. Especially if any section is confusing. The voices in my head don't always translate fully into the correct words. ;)

 

“…”

His head was splitting. Breathing just made it hurt more and his mouth tasted like he’d been on a two-week bender.

“Holy shit.” Bill. Then boots running on asphalt.

“Frank?” Karen.

That voice was worth opening his eyes. It took a few seconds for things to clear up, then Frank pushed himself up and looked around.

“Jesus.”

Thick smoke curled from burned trees and grass and asphalt before dissipating. It was everywhere. So was lizardman. Or more accurately, bloody, chunky pieces of scaled and raw flesh and bone splattered everywhere like one of those expensive as fuck paintings. There wasn’t enough of that alien gecko to make a shoe.

He looked up at Karen and her white on white eyes. So he hadn’t imagined it. It worried him but… “Not dead.”

Her lips pursed into a tight line. “This time.”

“She’s breathing.” Bill walked up with Talia out cold over his shoulder. “Can we get out of the squishy parts now?”

Karen nodded. “We need to go before more come.”

“There more of those things?” Frank pushed himself up, aching muscles clamoring for rest that wasn’t coming anytime soon.

“You better hope not.” She motioned, and they started down the street. “Never been happier that they closed Transverse.”

It would have been a mess of civilian casualties if the road had been open during the battle. Godzilla hadn’t been very discriminating in his destruction. As it was, the carousel and its surrounding area looked like a war zone and with two walkway bridges destroyed, nothing was going to go through 65th St. Transverse anytime soon.

“Could have used a car, though.” Bill shifted Talia’s weight a bit.

“Need help with that, Bill?”

Bill’s eyes narrowed. “No.”

They stopped short at the flashing lights, drawn guns, and police cars. They really didn’t need this right now. And there was no knowing if any of these guys were on the take.

“Stop right there!”

“Hands in the air!”

“Get on your knees!”

Karen, arms raised, took a step forward. “I’m a Federal Agent-”

“I said stop right there!”

There was a _click,_ and a piercing pain hit Frank above his left eye. It was Agony all over again, except this time it burned and radiated like a bullet shredding flesh. The six men holding guns ran past them and deeper into the park. Karen dropped to one knee, and everything came into sharp focus.

Frank didn’t realize he moved until he was right beside her, hand gripping her arm.

“Micro.” Was the last thing she said before collapsing.

Frank picked her up and looked around at the flashing lights.

“When I said double date, I expected the women to be conscious.”

Frank huffed and motioned to one of the cars. “Black SUV.”

Bill slid-pushed Talia into the backseat before going around and getting in the other side. Frank carried Karen to the passenger seat, putting her down as gently as he could because dammit she was bleeding again, and strapped her in. He got behind the wheel and drove off.

“This is all well and good,” Bill said. “But where do we go now?”

Frank knew exactly where they were going, route, address, and ETA. “Yonkers. That’s where that Micro is.”

“And you know that how?”

Frank looked over at Karen. “She told me.”

“When was that?”

“Right before she made those cops run into the park.”

 

 

It took them sixty-five minutes to go twenty miles, but that’s New York for you. Frank pulled into one of those charming, quiet neighborhoods where the biggest problem is that your neighbor hadn’t mow the lawn that week. They passed house after house after house.

“You sure you know where you’re going?”

No. Frank glanced at Karen. Both women were still out, but at least not bleeding. They couldn’t even feed them those damn bars he was still carrying. He was tempted to just head back to Hell’s Kitchen because then they’d be in their home turf, but she’d sounded so desperate and worried - in his head. Which now he was even wondering if it had been real. Any of it.

  1. _309._ “309,” he muttered under his breath.



“Over there.” Bill pointed, and Frank drove in.

It was a short driveway at least to the garage like building Frank pulled in front of and parked the car.

“Now what?”

“Good question.” Was he supposed to just walk up and knock at the door? Excuse me, we have bleeding women in our car. Wanna help?

Frank got out of the car just as the side door to the garage opened. The interior light haloed the curly-haired man in shorts and slippers and a robe that had seen better days. The man met his eyes with a confused smile.

“Are you lost, friend?”

Frank started walking towards the man. Tall, scraggly, and carrying a mug that said _We_ _’re no. 2!_ He looked like your typical pencil-pusher computer nerd. Frank could break him like a twig in seconds, and the thing was, he wasn’t in the mood to be polite. Not with two - too stubborn for their own good - women hurt and bleeding in the car.

His hand snaked up and grabbed the man by his neck and pushed him to the car.

“Hey, hey, hey. What the fu-”

“Do you know them?” Frank shoved the man’s face level to the passenger window.

The man froze, eyes going large and wild.

“Do—”

“Holy shit. Get them inside. Get them inside. NOW.”

Frank let him go and threw open the door getting Karen. Bill didn’t have to be told, he was already rounding the car to get Talia. They followed the man inside the garage.

He hit a button on his desk. “Sarah! Get in here with your kit!”

There was a pause. “God, David. Did you hit your toe again?”

“SARAH! Get in here now!”

He started pacing, hand on his head, he looked at Frank and Bill, still carrying the women.

“Right.” He went to the nearest table and swiped across, clearing it. “Here.” Then he went and pulled a recliner that had been buried under junk and looked older than Frank. “Here, too.”

Bill set Talia down on the table, Frank put Karen on the recliner.

“David.” A brownish-red haired woman, who must be Sarah, walked into the garage. “You do not take that tone of voice—” She froze when her eyes landed on Frank, then Bill, then the women. “Jesus on a pogo stick.

“Hold this.” She tossed a large black bag at Bill who caught it just before she unzipped it, pulling out a penlight.

Sarah leaned over Talia, checking vitals then her eyes. “Shit.” Her hand brushed over Talia’s hair. “Sweetie, what did you do?”

“Twice.”

Sarah looked up at Bill. “What?”

“Her eyes turned like that twice in tonight.”

“Oh, God.” She looked at Talia. “What got her out the first time?”

Bill shrugged. ”She kissed me.”

A smile ghosted on her lips, and she shook her head, turning and reaching for Karen.

“SARAH!”

Her hand froze mid-reach, inches from Karen. She looked at Karen, then at David and shrugged. Sarah grabbed Karen’s wrist.

“Sarah!”

“Shh.” Letting go of the wrist, Sarah checked Karen’s eyes. “Oh, honey, not you too. The two of you are giving me gray hairs that no bottle can cover.”

She stood in front of the Bill and the black bag, pulling out gloves. “David. Go to the fridge and get the IVs with their names.” She looked at Frank. “You, big guy, get the IV pole.” She pointed behind him and went to work. “And the black case that says IV.”

With practiced ease, she got to work. The first cannula was ready by the time David returned with the bags. He hung them and went to stand next to Frank. The first line in, Sarah moved to Karen. David made a move to stop or at least delay her, then thought better of it.

All in all, it took, maybe, fifteen minutes to get both IVs going and get them more comfortable. Sarah snapped the gloves off and wiped her forehead.

“How bad is it?” David looked at her worriedly.

Sarah opened her mouth, then her eyes landed on Frank. “Here,” she grabbed another set of gloves and her light, “let me take a look at you.”

“I’m fine, ma’am.”

Hazel eyes flashed. “SIT.”

Frank sat on the nearest surface, the edge of a table. David plopped down with a heavy swoosh on the closest chair. Bill landed on a set of tubs that creaked under the sudden weight. It was the tone more than the volume. The one that said _Do as I say or say help me you will rue the day you were born._ Every kid’s heard it. Every mother has it.

“He was bleeding earlier. Eyes, ears, nose. Everything.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed at Bill who shrugged with a _Better you than me, pal._

“Are you like them?” Sarah motioned to where Karen and Talia were resting.

“No, ma’am.” Frank shook his head. “Just had two screwed up kids mess with my head.”

She nodded. “That was you guys at Central Park.” She glanced over her shoulder at David. “Get me two more IVs will you, hun. The ones with the GEN label.”

“I don’t need that, ma’am.”

“I didn’t ask. Pull up a chair next to your buddy.” She turned to Bill. “And I’ll check on you when I’m done.” She moved to check on her priority patients.

Bill ducked his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

Frank glared at his best friend, but pulled up a chair and sat down. They were safe. At least for now. And they had medical care.

“You made the right call, Frank.”

“Let’s wait until they wake up before we throw a party.”

David came back with the IV bags and looked around. Bill and Frank just watched the man chase his own tail. David did a lap around the garage, holding the IV bags. Then walked up to a computer and hit a button.

“Hey, Leo? Can you come here for a sec?”

“Sure thing!” The voice sounded young, and in less than a minute, the door flung open, and a young girl walked in. “What’s—” Her eyes landed on Bill and Frank, battered, bruised and bloody.

Frank expected the cute kid to scream or at least do a one-eighty and march right out of the garage, but she just stared at them with cold, calculating eyes that were too jaded for such a youthful face and walked in. It wasn’t until she saw Karen and Talia that the kid showed up.

“Mom?” She took a step towards the prone women.

Sarah looked up, raising both hands. “No, no, honey. They’re going to be fine. It just looks bad because of the blood. They just need a banana bag or two and some rest. Okay.” Leo nodded. “Go help your dad, then you can come see them. Okay?”

Leo waited a breath, then nodded and turned to the center of the room.

“Oh, hey Leo,” David held up the IV bags, “we need something to hang these on. For those two.”

Frank’s head tilted to the side and his face twisted. “You get your kid involved in this for that?”

David crossed his arms or tried to, but the IV bags were too bulky. He put the bags on the nearest desk, then crossed his arms, chest out and chin up. “She’s a genius level engineer who already interns for SHIELD and probably has higher security clearance than both of you.”

Frank and Bill turned to study Leo who just shrugged and smiled, before heading to the other end of the garage. She came back twenty seconds later with a coat rack.

Frank’s lip tightened into a thin line. “You needed a genius level engineer to figure that out?”

“When he can’t open jars,” Leo said, “he asks Mom.”

“I heard that!” David grumbled then turned back to his computers.

Sarah came back, checked Bill and started IVs for both of them and in two shakes they were hooked up to their own banana bags.

“Can you clean the wounds?” She looked at Leo, who nodded. “Most are superficial. Just call me if there’s debris embedded or it needs stitches.”

Leo perked up. “Can I do the sutures?”

“Uh,” Sarah looked at Bill and Frank and cringed, “we’ll see.”

 _Sarah_ _’s my wife. Sarah’s my family._

Frank watched her go check on Karen. It was the second time she’d gone directly to Karen and Frank started to have a bad feeling.

_So is Karen._

A sharp sting followed by a lingering burn made his hand ache. It was years of training that kept his hand in place. The only sign of discomfort a slight flinch. But the bite went deep into the laceration.

“Sorry,” Leo murmured softly but didn’t stop treating the wound.

Frank studied the girl with big eyes too severe for any child. “You don’t have to do this, kid.”

Leo rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a big baby.”

From cute kid to a full-blown teenager is less than sixty seconds.

Bill laughed. “Don’t know how we keep finding all these women who order us around, but I kinda like it.” His smile faded. “We’re gonna need to take care of the car, Frank.”

“Yeah.” It hadn't been a priority. The driveway was surrounded by high hedges that hid the car nicely from immediate street view, but in a neighborhood like this, people noticed new cars. It wouldn’t be hard for a passing vehicle to run the plate or curious pedestrian to drop by and decide to investigate.

“You stole it?” Leo’s eyes were huge and just a little too bright.

Frank glanced over at Bill, who shrugged then. _What am I supposed to say?_

“Nah.”

“We borrowed it.”

The kid was no more than fourteen but gave them that look that all women seemed to know. _You_ _’re cute, but an idiot._ She patted his knee, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that had she known him just a bit longer, she would have rubbed his head in reassurance and comfort. 

Leo straightened. “I got it.”

She got it?

“Nah, kid, you don’t need to get involved in this shit.”

She looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head the whole time. At least she was back to being a regular teenager again.

“What type of vehicle is it? Outside, right?”

“Black SUV, police issued.” Bill leaned back on his chair, legs outstretched, hands steepled over his stomach like he didn't have a care in the world.

“Yeah.” Frank was two seconds away from hitting Bill and his devil-may-care attitude. The asshole should be helping him talk the kid out of whatever crazy idea had popped in her head.

Leo nodded and pulled out a green crate from a bottom shelf, taking out two license plates. Frank and Bill just looked at each other and watched her pick up a toolbox and walk outside.

She came back not ten minutes later. Put two plates that could only be the ones that had been on the car, and tossed them inside a red crate.

“Took care of it. Where were we?”

Frank was torn between being impressed as hell because by replacing the plates the kid just bought them some time, or horrified as fuck that not only she knew to do that, it got done.

“And don’t worry, those plates are registered to SHIELD, so that stops local cops cold.”

Frank could only stare as she picked up his hand and started dabbing the cuts.

“How are we doing here? You're doing great, sweetie.”

“This happen often?” Frank looked up at Sarah, a dazed look written all over his face. “Bleeding strangers at your house needing medical care, your kid switching out license plates of stolen cars?”

Sarah’s brow furrowed and the back of her hand went to Frank’s forehead, checking for fever. “It’s New York. Demons, witch doctors and ghouls, vampires.” She turned to Leo’s supplies.”Did I get the suture kit? Could have sworn we had—”

“Mom.” Sarah was still looking at the supplies. “MOM!”

Sarah turned to Leo who dipped her head in the direction of Frank and Bill, sitting there, faces drawn, and wide-eyed and more than a shade of gray.

“Oh…Umm.” She pursed her lips. “Kidding?”

Leo snorted and scooted her chair over to Bill. “So what happened at Central Park?”

“Leo!”

The girl shrugged. “Are you really going to tell me it wasn’t them? It’s all over the news, and an hour later they show up here all bleeding and— ” she looks at Karen and Talia.

Sarah sighed. “Put it on the screens, David.”

There were more screens in the garage than in any big box store, and they lit up with several different feeds. _Carnage in Central Park. Death and Destruction. Central Park Under Fire. Gangland Warfare at the park. Hail of Gunfire in Hell_ _’s Kitchen._

“Anything on West Village?” Bill grabbed the coat rack and motioned for Frank to get up so they could get closer to David at the center of all of the computers.

“Why?” David’s brow furrowed.

“That’s where it started.”

Sarah got up and motioned to Leo. “Come on, honey, let’s check on Karen and Talia.”

“Not if they are about to tell us what happened.”

“Now!” Leo got up. “Besides, they’re civilians. We won’t know anything until our girls wake up.”

“We are not civilians.”

David typed away at a keyboard and didn’t bother to look up. “Kinda are when you’re not SHIELD.” He looked at them, then back down on a different screen and typed away.

The screen they were looking at changed and their USMC pictures came up.

“How the hell did you figure that out?”

David sat back and studied him, then shrugged and pointed all around the garage. “Cameras. Facial recognition. Captain Frank Castle and Captain William Russo, United States Marine Corps. What happened in the park?”

Frank nodded at Bill. _You do it._

“Why me? You have seniority by two minutes.”

“You're the pretty one.” Frank pulled a table closer and sat down. This damn garage was littered with furniture and technology.

“Drug lord put a bounty on our heads because we have evidence that drugs are being smuggled into the US involving military personnel. We presented the evidence and provided testimony to the US Attorney this morning.”

David blinked. “Huh.”

“Tell him about the Blacksmith,” Frank said.

David jerked back. “The Blacksmith is involved?” Frank and Bill both nodded. “No. Nononononono.” David spun his chair around and started typing fast. Screens flashed all around them. “When? When did you say you testified?”

“In front of a Grand Jury this morning. Didn’t know how far the corruption was up the chain of command. So we couldn't go military.”

David pushed his chair across this work area to a different computer and typed. “This is bad.”

Images flashed so fast they became a blur. David chewed on his nail, pushed off again and studied the new screen. His foot kept flapping against the slipper. _Tap. Tap. Tap._

“Bad. Bad. Bad.” 

“I’m not liking the tone of your voice, _David._ _”_ Bill sent Frank the _What the fuck, now?_

 _“_ Worse.”

Frank had enough. “Spill it.”

David grimaced, glanced at them, then back to his screen. “There are no records.”

That didn’t sound right. It was mumbled and low and sounded like ‘There’s no record’ and that was impossible.

“No interviews. No Grand Jury. No sign of any Frank Castle or William Russo were ever at the US Attorney’s Office.”

“That’s not possible,” Frank said trying to understand what the screens were telling David.

“Hundreds of people saw us walk in there,” Bill said. “They recorded our interviews. People saw us at the courthouse.”

David interlaced his hands behind his curly brown hair. His lips were in a tight line. _Tap. Tap. Tap._ “I don’t know what to tell you, man. Just what I’m seeing. There is no record of either of you at the US Attorney’s Office. No interview. No indictment. No Grand Jury testimony.”

“The Blacksmith doesn’t have that much power.” Frank couldn’t fathom a scumbag having that much reach.

“He had us hit in a government safe house surrounded by cops,” Bill pointed out. “They tracked us to—”

David scrambled up. “They’re tracking you? Here? I have a family! My family’s here.”

“Hey! Hey!” Frank grabbed David and shoved him back down into the chair. “To Central Park. They tracked us there. That’s where they hit us. It took us over an hour to get here, do you think they just decided to take a lunch break? Wait for us to get some rest?”

“Enough!” Sarah said, red-faced and muscles cording at her neck. “Can the three of you keep it down with scary Blacksmith stories in front of my kid?”

The three men turned to a wide-eyed Leo who looked ready to cry _._ Frank remembered Karen’s words.

_“People like us stopped saying that name out of fear. He uses other Inhumans as his personal death squads. All there’s left is a trail of bodies and destruction.”_

Bill came around Frank, pulling the coat rack and Frank himself along until they were in front of Leo.

“Leo,” Bill dropped to one knee and picked up the girl’s hand, “I’m not going to lie and say that this isn't a little bad and a lot scary. But we aren’t going to let anything bad happen to you or your family or them,” he motioned to Karen and Talia. “OK?” He waited until she nodded. “Besides, look at this guy’s scary face.” He nodded at Frank. “Know what our squad called him? The Punisher. All of the bad guys were scared of him because they knew he was coming and he always got them. He still does. OK?”

Leo nodded, looked at Frank, then back at Bill. “He’s not that scary.”

“That’s because you’re a pretty girl, not a bad guy. He doesn’t scare pretty girls.” Bill leaned in and whispered. “Pretty girls scare him. A lot.”

Leo glanced at Frank and smiled, this time a full genuine smile.

“OK,” Sarah came around, putting her hands on Leo’s shoulders, “let’s go inside and check on Zach—”

“Mom!”

“ —and get them some food. When our girls wake up, they will be ravenous. You can help me bring it out here. OK?” Sarah guided Leo out of the garage, looked over her shoulder and mouthed a _Thank you_ at Bill, who nodded.

“And that’s why kids shouldn’t be involved in shit like this.” Frank’s face was hard and unyielding. “Genius or no.”

David rubbed his face. “Yeah? Let’s see you handle a teenage daughter who’s a prodigy.” He looked at the screens, then back at them. “OK. Blacksmith’s involved. Your evidence and testimony have been erased, and now they are after you guys to tie off the loose ends.

“Our team leaders are unconscious— ”

“They are team leaders?” Frank looked at Karen. It wasn’t that he doubted her abilities. She’d proven herself as more than capable, but looking at her now, unconscious and so vulnerable, it made him ache that this was what she always did. Always in the thick of things. Always leading and protecting regardless of cost.

“Duh. Wouldn’t you follow either one of them into a vampire nest?” David grimaced, scratched his head, crossed and uncrossed his legs under the scrutiny of the two Marines. “I forgot you guys don’t have the experience.”

David sighed. “Could really use our team, but they’re dark for a reason, and that’s never good.”

Frank looked at the screen where there were still SHIELD agents - they are hard to miss - in the background of the Central Park feeds.

“You’re SHIELD aren't you? Why don’t you call them for help?”

David’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, about that—”

Bill held up his hand. “Please don’t tell me you're not SHIELD.”

“No, we are,” David said. “Kinda. Mostly. We’re actually STAKE. Special Threat-”

“I don’t care about your alphabet,” Frank interrupted. “Why can’t you call them?”

“Because we’re the supernatural black ops of SHIELD,” David answered. “Anyone below a Level Six doesn’t even know we exist.”

“Why not?”

David glanced over to Bill. “Because of what we deal with on a daily basis. The extranormality stuff. Vampires. Ghouls. Demons. Do you think the average SHIELD agent can deal with that?”

Frank wasn't sure _he_ could deal with that. It was bad enough that there were aliens. Couldn’t deny them after New York. Then it was super-powered folks, and that was fine when there were only two or three of them, but it turns out that there are a lot more than the average person realizes. Add that all of our nightmare stories are, in reality, not stories at all but a real threat, and it was quite possible that people would just freak the shit out.

“Our team is small. If SHIELD is a stadium, then we are a hot dog cart in the last space of the parking lot. If they’ve gone dark and I mean full ghost town mode that means something hit hard enough they couldn’t reach out to me or their team leaders. And that’s real bad.”

Losing contact with the team was bad. Having said team go into whatever it was without their team leaders was worse. But they couldn’t do anything about that now.

“I get us being involved with this because of the Blacksmith, but it’s just a drug operation.” David’s face scrunched up in thought.

“They are smuggling drugs inside the body of dead servicemen,” Bill said.

David cringed. “Sorry. But what do you guys have or know that makes it worth going after you? The Central Park thing was not quiet. How many guys went after you? Fifty? Because they,” he motioned at Karen and Talia, “wouldn’t have gone nuclear for anything less than fifty.”

“Three.” Frank’s voice was flat. It would have been easier if they’d faced fifty soldiers. David gave him an incredulous look. “Inhumans. Brother and sister, maybe twins - Agony and Illusion. And something—”

“Stop,” David ordered. He spun on his chair, did that lightning fast typing of his and the screens changed.

It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was downright horrifying. Frank had seen enough after-action reports to recognize the format of an official document. And then there were the images. Lots of crime scene photos. Each new one worse was than the previous one.

“Sarah is going to have to hear this.” David got up and ran out the door, slippers flatting wildly and robe flying behind him like a cape.

“Franky, what have we gotten ourselves into?”

Good question. Certainly not the black and white idea they’d left Kandahar with. It was still a drug operation, but now it was being run some super-powered asshole and his super-powered lackeys.

“Have no idea.”

“…counterproductive to talk to a teenage girl like that.” Sarah walked into the garage, or it was more like David pushed her in. She was carrying two plates with sandwiches and fruit that almost spilled over when she saw the screens. “And how many times to do I have to tell you no autopsy photos while we’re eating?”

“Tell her,” David ordered Frank.

“Tell me what, David.”

“They faced Agony and Illusion tonight.” David managed to get the plates and the food before they slipped out of Sarah’s fingers. “It’ll be OK, babe.” He put the plates on a table. “Tell her.”

Frank made himself _not_ look at any more of the images. The people, the ones that survived - shit, they weren’t people anymore.

“What happened?” Sarah’s voice was low and choked.

“We got suckered,” Bill said. “Blew clip after clip on shadows that didn’t exist. By the time we saw the real enemy,” he shrugged, “no more bullets.”

“Agony got Karen first, then within seconds took down Talia. Brought them to their knees, screaming in pain.”

“Both at the same time?”

Frank looked at David. “She had help. They both did.”

“And that psycho did the thing she does.” Sarah’s hand covered her mouth trying to stifle a sob. “She tore into them. Like she did those people.” Sarah pointed to the screens. “Did she tear into you, too?

White hot searing pain. Feeling like mind was being peeled layer by layer. “Not like them.”

“No, you're awake and talking.” Sarah spun around turning her back to them.

“Sarah.” David reached out for his wife, but she flinched and waved him off. “It’s going to be OK.”

Sarah turned, tears streaking down her face. “Is it, David? They are almost done with their second bag and show no signs of recovering. Their powers can only regenerate so much blood before everything shuts down completely. Like that.” She pointed to the unconscious women.

“They probably blew through reserves they didn’t even know they had. And it’s still not enough. I can treat the physical symptoms. It will take time, but we can replenish that furnace of theirs and restore equilibrium. But no amount of banana bags will fix the mental damage. I wouldn’t even know who to call because everyone would call _them_ in this situation.”

Sarah began pacing and wiping angrily at her tears.

“Sarah.”

“Did you know that Karen tried to help one of those victims?” Sarah pointed at the screens. “She said there was nothing left to help. Agony and Illusion left a type of mind cancer behind when they were done. It just continued to eat at the person. Long after those psychos were gone.”

“That was days of torture, Sarah.”

“The mind works differently, David. Time works differently on the mind. A second or a minute, Agony bulldozed into their minds with the equivalent of a hacksaw.”

Frank heard each word, missing a lot of the context, but getting the gist. Karen - and Talia - might not come back from what they had to do to protect Bill and him. And now there was nothing to do but wait and hope they’d pull out it.

“She’s dead,” Frank said. “They both are.” At least he had that to hold on to.

“Good,” Sarah said. “But it won’t matter if Karen and Talia don’t wake up.”

“They’re going to wake up,” David looked at his team leaders then at his wife, “aren’t they?”

“I don’t know, David.” Sarah shook her head. “Any injury Agony might have done was made worse when they went nuclear.”

Bill straightened. “Nuclear? The eye thing?”

Sarah nodded. “It’s a push or pull of power, at least that’s how Talia explains it. An abundance of energy and they can use it to push out their will. Do the things they do.”

“We got hit by a truck,” Frank said. “Talia pulled our car apart mid-accident, pulling the four of us away from it even as the truck was going through the pieces. We landed a few feet away with barely any scratches.”

“Jesus.”

Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “That would’ve been enough power expenditure to call for a banana bag or enough calories to feed a horde of teenage boys.”

“That happened before Agony and Illusion.”

“And Godzilla,” Billy said. “Can’t forget that energy-breathing asshole.”

“They pushed themselves,” Sarah said, “to save you. That’s what they do.” She looked over her shoulder. “But this time, they might have pushed too far.

“I really need some wine—”

David looked at his wife. “Really? Now?”

“It’s how I think, David, and right now I really need to figure out how to pump them with massive calories in the shortest amount of time,” Sarah said, then turned. “Let me unhook you guys, first.”

Bill and Frank were flexing their hands and stretching after Sarah left. David waited until the door was closed before pouncing.

“Godzilla?”

“Talia blew him up,” Billy answered.

David stumbled over his own feet. “Stop.” He grabbed a mug from the table, went to the far wall and put the mug in the microwave. He waited until it beeped and came back with a steaming mug. “OK, you’re Marines. Mission Report. Go.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed. “You talking about an after action report?”

“Whatever, I want to hear about the King of Monsters.”

 

 

 

Karen’s eyes opened to twinkling stars and warm blankets. She went on her elbows and looked around, despite the low light, she made out the pillows, chaise chairs being occupied by a sleeping Castle and Russo, and plants. Lots of plants.

They made it to the Lieberman’s. The familiarity warmed her like hot soup on a cold day.

She always loved the idea of a sunroom, occasional greenhouse, on top of the garage which was really Micros lair. Blankets rustled as she moved.

“Shh.”

Karen blinked, then saw Talia sitting in one of the window seats meditating. Karen paused at the cannula on her hand - they had to have IVs? - then extricated herself from the blanket burrito more quietly and ambled her way next to Talia. Russo and Frank were still sleeping which surprised her. Military men were not heavy sleepers. Can’t be in a war zone. SpecOps like them should have heard her move in the blankets much less when she walked.

“I knocked them out.” Talia was rubbing the bandage around her own cannula.

“Why?”

“They were too—”

“Concerned?” Karen said wryly.

“I just needed a bit of space.” She shrugged. “They weigh a ton. Should’ve had them sitting before I knocked them out.”

“Couldn't just take a walk?”

“They hover worse than Sarah.”

That was hard to believe. Karen loved Sarah Lieberman, but when she had her _I_ _’m a doctor, do as I say_ hat, she was a good-hearted, but unbearable bully.

“How long were we out?”

It was still night so it couldn’t have been that bad.

“Twenty-five hours.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I know. That was a bit of a surprise too. And before you ask, the team is still dark. Every call is going to voice mail, and the building is empty.”

Karen took a deep breath. That was more than just troublesome. What could’ve happened for STAKE to go all hands on deck? Demon hordes had once. The opening of a Hellhole in Jersey. Ghost Rider, but that had been a misunderstanding. So it wasn’t like it had never happened before.

“Daisy has this. Whatever it is.”

They sat in comfortable silence. Daisy was an excellent leader. She’d take care of the team, but it burned that their team was out there fighting some danger or other and they weren’t with them.

“Want to talk about it?”

Karen knew what Talia meant. It wasn’t about the team, they were in good hands. It was about Agony and Illusion. And about that thing was not human, not even close.

“Don’t make the joke, ‘the plane, the pain.’” Talia’s voice ended with a much higher pitch.

She knew Karen so well.

“It hurt.” That was an understatement.

“Yeah.” Talia shouldered Karen. “You broke through though. My hero.”

Karen made a face but smiled. “Not alone.”

She watched Frank sleep. He looked peaceful, the lines that stood out in that expressive face were smoother, and it made him look younger.

“That Captain Castle _likes_ you.”

“Stop it.” It wasn’t like Karen could deny there was something there and it was mutual. But now after all that’s already happened, there’s no way anything could come out of it.

If the night had been that boring babysitting duty, then maybe she could have possibly tested the waters if Simmons cleared her. Big if. But now?

“Relationships started during high-stress situations are doomed to fail.”

Talia looked at her. “I’m not telling you to marry the man, just have a little fun.”

Karen wiggled her non-gloved hands, then frowned. How long had she been…

“How do you think Sarah put the IVs in? Who do you think carried you in? Who’s had their arm brushing yours this whole time?”

Karen looked down. She hadn’t noticed that they were close enough to touch. Had been touching. She’d fallen into their old pattern as if the touch drought of last six months never happened.

“It doesn't…” Karen’s face tightened. It wasn’t over. Illusion was a perfect example. “I killed Illusion with my _face._ ”

Talia scooted back on the seat and turned, sitting cross-legged to face Karen. She tugged at Karen until they were facing each other.

“You were trying to kill Illusion. You had to. I saw Castle’s face.”

For as long as Karen lived, even if everything got resolved at daybreak and she never saw him again, she would never forget the terror of seeing Frank’s face be so blank and lifeless.

“Yeah, well, I still did it. So whatever this is,” her hand gestured over her body, “it’s not over, and I can’t be sure I can control it.”

Talia grabbed her hands and held tight. “But I think you’re starting to.” She lifted their entwined hands. "See? Not even a little sleepy.”

Laughter burst from her lips. She guiltily looked at the sleeping men when Talia shushed her. But a smile remained.

“Frank—” Karen bit her lip. “Are we sure he’s fully human?”

“Why?”

Where to start?

“He withstood Agony. It tore him apart, but even she was impressed with his pain threshold. And there’s a rage in him that is almost an entity within itself.”

“You mean like—”

Karen shook her head. “It’s not a parasite.” Talia quirked a brow. “Symbiote.”

She didn’t know how to explain the rage that was not her own, yet she felt it deep in her bones. Or that monstrous storm, so full of anger and violence.

“Is he a danger?” Talia said with deliberate slowness.

Except that wasn’t the question she was really asking. _Am I going to have to kill Frank Castle?_

“No,” Karen said. That storm had scared her until she’d felt him in it. It had never been a danger for her. “No.”

Talia took her word for it. “OK. And he’s fully human. They both are. I checked them out when I had to lug them to the chairs.”

It was Karen’s turn to raise a brow. How much ‘checking’ had Talia really done.

“Perv.” Talia smiled. “Something is wrong with me if I didn’t even think to cop a feel. But I checked them on a cellular level. All human. Extraordinary, but human.”

“There’s gotta be something,” Karen said. “How else do you explain my connection to him?”

Talia was silent for a full minute.

“Soulmates.”

Karen’s eyes narrowed. “Your connection to Russo?”

“…”

Karen smirked.

“Lust,” Talia said. Too late. “How did you figure out Godzilla was pulling power from a portal?” Talia always changed the subject when the topic turned into something she didn’t want to talk about. She usually turned the conversation to sex, if she was talking work, she must really not want to talk about Russo.

“You do realize you were way glowy and a bit creepy after you kissed Frank, right?”

“He’s a great kisser,” Talia said. “You should try it. He packs a wallop. I was a bit drunk on energy.”

“You told me to shield them and use Frank.”

Talia bit her lip. “I did? I had visions of lots of explosions.”

“That’s what I was afraid of so I was ready to try a shield—”

“How was it to be the brisket of that sandwich?”

The flush started in her cheeks, then spread to her neck and chest and all the way down to her hands.

“Come on, not even a glimmer in your eye?”

“I was terrified we were all going to die!” Karen pushed at Talia’s shoulder, then froze.

“Still awake.”

Karen inhaled slowly and deliberately, buying time. It was too scary to hope. She needed science to back it up. It was too dangerous not to have empirical evidence otherwise.

“I bought time by creating one of my pocket dimensions—”

“Totally wish I could do that.”

“-and then Frank’s cheek touched mine, and he was in there with me.”

Talia’s mouth slowly formed an o. “In the pocket dimension?”

Karen nodded. She still didn’t know what to make of that. Normal humans don’t just do all of those things.

 _Soulmates_.

It was a romantic concept but problematic and unrealistic. The idea that there’s only one person for you is actually pretty depressing too. Besides, the Ancient One—

“Karen!” Talia smacked Karen’s leg. “Can’t leave me hanging like that. What happened in the pocket dimension.”

“We talked. It…” Felt right. How do you put a lifetime and an instant into words?

“Soulmates!” Karen snorted, but Talia continued. “Look how else do you explain a practical stranger just popping in your special dimension. You can’t pull me in, and I’m awesome!”

“Yeah well, that’s what made me think Godzilla was pulling energy from somewhere else.”

Talia nodded. “His own little pocket dimension. I couldn’t see it until he siphoned the power and once he did then I could too. Did you get that jolt I sent your way?

“Pity we had to destroy it. Having something like that would go a long way to keep us from going all Carrie at the prom. When it blew, I felt like I’d been hit in the face by the Hulk.”

A groan. A grumble and blankets rustling got their attention.

“What did you do to us?” Russo was rubbing his forehead with the heel of his palm.

“Put you on the chairs when you kinda passed out,” Talia said, straight face and all. “You seemed really tired.”

Karen didn’t have to guess at Russo’s thoughts. His mind screamed them, and all had to do with strangling Talia. And some kissing.

Talia jumped up. “I’m in desperate need for coffee, and I could eat a horse. Maybe a herd. I’m raiding the kitchen.” She practically skipped out of the room.

Russo started counting to ten very loudly in his mind. He got to three before chasing after Talia.

“You OK?” Frank was still in his chair, leaning back and head resting on his hand.

Karen’s heart skipped a beat. How long exactly had they been awake? How much had he heard?

“Yeah. I am,” she said. “Thanks for getting us here.”

“The Lieberman’s are something.” The silence was interesting. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was heavy. “Sarah was worried. Very worried. Especially when neither of you woke up after the fifth IV.”

_You have everything._

Five IVs? Really? How in the hell does she not have to the bathroom right now? The energy exertion of their powers was a monster in and of itself. Constantly needing to be fed energy, usually from living beings but now always, or food. Lots and lots and lots of food. They'd never needed more than three IVs, and Karen and Talia had been conscious at the time.

“Yeah.” He ran a hand over his face. “Said that with what Agony and Illusion did and with you going nuclear with your powers, that you knew,” his throat rumbled as he cleared it, “ _knew_ that you were running of risk of blowing some mental fuse. Of turning into some vegetable. Of dying.”

Karen did not like where this was going. And she fucking hated his tone. Frank’s mind wasn’t screaming. It was cold and deadly.

“Of killing yourselves in order to protect _us._ _”_ He jumped up from the chair and marched, boots clomping down hard on the wood floor, to where she was sitting.

“No. No!” He did a sharp pivot and stomped away. “You don't get to do that. You don’t sacrifice your life or anything else. Not for Bill. Not for me. For anyone. You just don’t.”

It was screaming now. All jumbled up.

_So hold on to it._

“You’re right.” Karen unfolded her legs and stood up. “Of course.” She snapped her heels and did a god awful salute. “Yes, _sir._ Because that’s you, right? Captain Frank Castle is now in charge. Go ahead. Order us around. Tell us what to do. And we can’t do.

“What was I _thinking_ risking my life to protect yours. Am I even allowed to think? Have a job? Do that job? It’s okay for others to risk everything, but not me? Not me because I'm not good enough? Is that right? Why?”

He paced back and forth. Hands running down his face, over his hair and back again.

“Because…Can’t…I…” He picked up the back of the chair Russo had used and slammed it back into the ground. Wood groaned and cracked.

His mind is screaming the need to protect her. The fear of having her collapse in his arms. The terror she wouldn’t wake up. And it would have been _his_ fault. _NO! Not gonna happen. Not on my watch._

_You will throw everything away for me, and I cannot let that happen._

Karen’s anger deflated. Anger, fear, and terror were bombarding her but in a wave of panic. This brave, honorable man had been through so much death and darkness. She hadn’t had a chance to read his whole file, but she’d read enough. He was a bona fide hero. Maybe darker than the likes of Rogers, but a hero just the same.

A wave of peace surged through her and out to that storm of his that was there seething in the shadows. It was the one thing she could do. The comfort she was willing to risk until she knew for sure that she was safe. And she gave it all she had.

_One Tesseract. Two Tesseract. Three Tesseract. Four Tesseract. Five Tesseract._

The screaming was smothered by peace until it was just a murmur. His head hung between his arms, hands still gripping the back of the chair. The panic had subsided and she was happy she could help. But now he had to know where she stood.

“I love my job. Love it. I help and protect and save. Do a pretty good job at it, too. There’s risk. Always. But from the time you wake up, there is risk everywhere, every time. If I’d died in that alley or in the park. It would have been doing a job I love. And right now that job is to protect you.”

“Sorry.” There was a harsh rawness in every syllable. “Yeah. I’m sorry, Karen.”

Karen sat down and focused on breathing. On that wave of peace for herself.

 _Soulmates! You having_ fun _yet? I_ _’m grabbing a shower. We’ll come with food in a while._

Karen shouldn't ask. Didn’t want to know. _Alone?_

 _Someone is quite vexed right now and must grumble over ham and cheese. Put a mental sock out if you_ _’re having too much fun._

A soft chuckle escaped her lips.

“Forgiven?”

It was too dark for her to see him clearly. She could barely make out his face hidden in the shadows. But those dark eyes of his haunted her. She could only imagine the look in them now.

“Yeah. You are.” There was no hiding the smile in her voice.

“That was a pretty good ‘Yes, sir’ you have there, Page. Dripping with so much disdain and insolence I need a towel.”

“I aim to please.”

He let out a wry chuckle. “Oh yeah?”

_You can say no, but I could really use your help._

Karen reached out mentally, looking for that storm, but the only thing she found was a ghost and a whisper. She’d soothed them too.

“What’s with that thing you say? Before you shoot?”

He went still, not even a breath. “One batch. Two batch. Penny and dime.” He took a deep shuddering breath. “It was her favorite book.

“Davis, one of my squad mates, had a daughter. Just a baby really. Less than three years old. All curly hair and big puppy eyes and chubby fingers. She was crazy about that book. He’d read it to her every chance he got. Then on her birthday, Henderson, Bill and I read it to her, too. She was so damn thrilled she was glowing. After that, she’d ask me or Bill to read it again after her daddy. We never said no. That little girl had us all wrapped around her little sticky fingers.”

Karen’s smile grew with each word she’d thought she’d burst. Then air changed and all that joy was swallowed up in darkness and anger and despair.

“Davis was one of the first to get home when we rotated out. The whole squad except Bill and me which was unusual, but orders were orders.

“Two days after he got home, they were struck by a hit and run. Rolled their car down the side of the mountain. Killed Davis, his wife, and that beautiful little girl.”

The anger turned to rage.

“Just bad luck I guess. A shitty accident.” Problem was, he didn’t sound like he believed it. “The way life fucks with you just when you think things are going right.”

That cloud roared back into existence in a blink of an eye, and it swirled around Frank, wrapping itself around him.

Karen’s heart broke for him. Frank carried so much pain and guilt and rage that she wasn’t sure anyone could soothe him. It. She tried anyway.

_Use two hands, and never let go._


	8. Guilty As Sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a telepathic conversation. Writing guides say don't put quotes around the text and that dialog tags are reserved for spoken words only. I personally did not want to do 'she thought or Karen sent to Talia' because it read silly to me. Hopefully, I made it clear who was thinking/saying what. If it's confusing, please let me know, and I'll change it. As always, thanks for reading, I hope you're enjoying the ride, and comments are golden caffeine that fuels writers ;)

 

 

Talia and Billy came back with coffee and sandwiches and David and Sarah. The first thing Sarah did was hug them, both of them tight. Then the yelling started. They should have known better. They _did_ know better. What were they thinking! It was too much strain. They went nuclear after already being attacked by Agony. They could have died, and if she wasn’t making herself clear, they could have _DIED!_ Or worse, they could have mushed their brains so severely that they’d be living on the will of machines.

Sarah wiped her tears, hugged them again, and they had their coffee and food. Then more food because Karen and Talia were famished despite being pumped with enough calories to feed a small nation. Billy sat away from Talia, still furious and worried and confused, but there was more to it. He might not have the overwhelming need to protect Talia, but it was a jumble of conflicting feelings that were screaming out of him, they were intense and unfamiliar, and he had no clue how to deal with them.

David was practically bouncing off the walls with nervous energy, telegraphing that something was up. When Sarah excused herself because those kids won’t drive themselves to school, David bounced up, kissed his wife and just about pushed her out of the sunroom. He cocked his head for them to follow. With Sarah out the door, David jumped into his center console and started typing.

“We have an idea.” He typed faster, then stopped. “Actually, they have a plan. It’s a good plan. I think it’ll work.”

 

 

“We retreat and regroup here.” Frank pointed at a location on the picture now spread over David’s largest and cleanest table. He looked up, eyes bouncing between Talia and Karen, lingering on the latter.

He grabbed his coffee but didn’t drink, just needed to do something with his hands. Bill just continued drinking from a mug that said _‘I cannot brain today…I has The Dumb.’_

Talia sat down on a chair and kicked up her legs. Karen pushed away from the table and straightened, still looking at the spread on the table. That luscious lower lip curled inward and a long, elegant finger started tapping across on the side of her mouth.

She turned to Talia, and they shared one of those looks that were whole silent conversations.

The silence never bothered Frank. He didn’t fidget or get bored, not when there was an assignment or goal or plan. But this was there chance to get answerers, and if they didn’t take it, the window of opportunity could close. Maybe forever.

“If we—”

David shushed him. “They’re talking it over. Just wait.”

Bill and Frank stared at David who eventually felt the weight of their gazes. “What? Don’t you know?” He scratched his head. “Really? You saw them use their powers. Didn’t it ever occur to either of you that they can actually talk to each other telepathically? Their powers are all mental.” He tilted his head in thought. “Well, different but still mental.”

David’s hand gesture had always meant crazy loon to Frank, but the computer nerd was too afraid of Talia and Karen to do that in front of them so it might have just been his way of expressing the powers of the mind. Frank wasn't sure.

“That’s how Karen can read thoughts and—”

He did not hear that right. Bill spit out his coffee.

“What?”

“Uh, which part?” David was looking at them like they were idiots. Frank kinda thought they were.

Bill rubbed a hand over his face.  “You said Karen can read thoughts? Any? All thoughts?”

“Well, yeah. That’s how she can pick up enemy location and movement. Their intent. She’s SHIELDs best interrogator because all she has to do is sit there. Doesn’t even need to be in the same room with somebody. Just close enough. Doesn’t even ask questions most of the time.”

 _Fuck._ All of Frank’s completely inappropriate thoughts the minute he saw the woman ran through his head. All of them. All her half-smiles, the blushes now made perfect sense. Jesus H. Christ. The fact the woman was still talking to him spoke of her… _goodness._ He wouldn’t be so forgiving if he’d been in her shoes. And how the hell hadn’t she slapped Bill yet?

 

 

 _So. Do we hate the plan itself or just that it_ _’s not our plan?_ Karen tugged at her bottom lip, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

It was a well thought out plan. Frank and Bill, along with David, had put a lot of time on it. Planned for multiple contingencies. And with all of their testimony and evidence criminally erased, it was probably their only option.

 _We_ _’d be going into a lion’s den. Running into danger and putting them at risk instead of running away and keeping them safe._

Talia’s mind was jumbled, being pulled in opposite directions. One William Russo had a lot to do with that.

Karen was taken back a little. Usually, _she_ is the voice of reason, and Talia is the one to go headlong into danger.

 _We could run. Wait until we_ _’re sure we can reach the right people at SHIELD._  

_You mean until we can reach Fury who got us into this mess in the first place._

The mental jab was a splash of cold water on a hot day. Talia wasn’t wrong, it was what Karen had implied, just hadn’t wanted to put it that way because that’d mean there was a possibility that even some part of SHIELD had been corrupted by the Blacksmith.

 _Think he knew about the Blacksmith_ _’s involvement?_ Karen didn’t consider Fury to be the warm and fuzzy type, but he wouldn’t have thrown them into the deep end without any support.

Both SHIELD and STAKE had been getting stonewalled by government bureaucracy when it came to instigating the Blacksmith. In fact, the Intelligence Committee had systematically denied their requests for a special task force even though it had been approved by the World Council. At every turn, they’d had some congressional pencil pusher telling them how to do their jobs.

 _Knew? No. Suspected and hoped we_ _’d get the evidence? Yeah. I think so. Ol’ One Eye could have warned us, though._

Karen ran through scenarios. Fury had been told in no uncertain terms that SHIELD and by extension, STAKE, were not to investigate the Blacksmith, so what was the best way to avoid those orders? Send Inhuman agents to babysit witnesses testifying against a ‘random’ drug lord. There had been no mention of the Blacksmith in the files. Just a drug lord using the military to smuggle drugs. Talia and Karen hadn't known who that was until Billy had told them.

If Fury had even hinted that Blacksmith might be involved, it would've had to be in one report or other. And the Intelligence Committee, chaired by the Senior Senator from New York, Stan Ori, would have more ammunition to get rid of Fury and move SHIELD under congressional control which left Ori in charge of SHIELD.

Fury had left for the European conference _before_ STAKE had been pulled into whatever was happening with them. Fury had expected Talia and Karen to have support if shit hit the fan. The best plan of mice and men.

 _If this was the STRIKE team, would you hesitate to follow this plan?_ It was a cheap blow, and Karen wasn’t proud of herself throwing Rumlow at Talia in order to comfort her own misgivings.

_Billy and Frank would fit right in with the STRIKE team._

Karen had thought that as well.

 _Kare, I_ _’m worried about us - me. I feel off, not back to normal power levels despite the rest. If we get in a tight spot, I may not be able to pull us out of it._

Karen paused. It was not like Talia to admit weakness. If she was, that meant things were bad. It also made Karen take a step back because now she had a kernel of doubt about her own power levels. They’d have to have a backup contingency, just in case.

_So we doing this?_

_Yeah. We are._

Karen looked up to see Frank’s ears turning a shade of red, and his eyes were looking everywhere but her. Billy was making indiscernible noises, his face buried in his hands.

“Don’t worry about them. I just told them you can read minds.”

Karen bit back a chuckle. Talia didn't bother.

“What did you think the fifty bucks was for, pretty boy?” Talia was enjoying this too much. She walked past him, patting a reddened cheek and headed for a far wall in the garage.

With a click and shift, the wall opened up displaying a wide range of weapons and tactical equipment. Talia took an assault rifle down and started inspecting it.

Billy forgot about all the previous embarrassment. “You said you don’t do guns.”

“I said we don’t carry, that most of the things that come after us can’t be stopped by regular guns, never said we didn’t know what to do with them.”

Billy looked at the CQBR in her hands and sneered. “You were trained by _Navy._ _”_

David walked to them and pulled out a large black box. “I can send out a drone and be the eye in the sky.”

“What did Fury tell you about taking out drones from the armory without permission?”

“Are you going to tell?” David blinked, then laughed. “Sorry, forgot who I was talking to.”

Karen was trying to catch Frank’s gaze except he was looking anywhere but her. She’d felt the wave of horror, but it had been layered under swaths of embarrassment.

“I can’t read every thought every time,” Karen said softly as she came up beside him. “Not only would it be rude, it’s also taxing. I could do it, but it would become overwhelming. Too many voices in my head is not a good look on me. I mostly get emotions, rather than defined thoughts.” For the most part, but she didn’t want to be too specific. A girl has to keep some secrets.

She wasn’t about to tell him about that screaming need to protect her or that storm of rage. Not until she could figure some of that stuff on her own.

Gloved fingers lightly touched his forearm. “Nothing to apologize for. Not even a little bit. If anything, I’m flattered.” She smiled and turned to the armaments and didn't miss the wave of inflated ego that was emanating from behind her.

 

 

 

“Okay, confirmed. One heat signature in the house,” David said over the headsets. “You’re good to go. I’m running the drone through the perimeter.”

They moved through the Tarrytown trees in pairs, Frank/Karen, Bill/Talia. That split assured each Marine had an Inhuman backup. There was never any doubt about how they’d end up pairing anyway. Frank would've preferred for it to be only Marines, but when he even hinted that Karen and Talia could stay in the SUV, both women looked ready to shoot him on the spot. Bill and Frank were equipped with the familiar HK416. It had kept them alive in Kandahar, it was a known entity and an old friend.

Karen and Talia had chosen the CQBR, they _had_ been trained by former-Seals, and when both had dismantled and reassembled the weapon with ease, it erased any doubt that they would be more than acceptable backup. They crept through the trees, then split up. Bill and Talia went left with the intent of coming going into the house via a side entry. Frank and Karen went right which would take them to a direct route to the back of the house and into the study according to the blueprint. They prowled across the manicured yard of the multi-million dollar mansion, and past an expensive looking Lexus.

It was clear how Ray Schoonover was spending his ill-gotten gains. The mansion had an estimated value of over eleven million dollars, and that was just base model without improvements.

Frank motioned to Karen who followed him until they were just outside the line of windows to the spacious study. Schoonover was across the room fiddling with books on a shelf. They moved stealthily until they were on the blind side of the French patio doors. Frank slowly pulled down the handle, easing the glass partition open, then burst into the room weapon ready. Karen was right behind him.

“Hands! Now!”

Schoonover looked over his shoulder at Frank and sighed. “Hello, Frank. I’ve been expecting you.”

Not thirty seconds later Bill and Talia came into the study through the house. “Hello, Billy.” He looked at the women. “And you’ve made friends.”

Frank’s eyes narrowed. “Move. Slow.” He motioned with the barrel of the weapon for Schoonover to sit.

“That’s not necessary.” Ray walked, heading slowly to his desk.

“No.” Frank motioned again. “Chair.”

Ray chuckled. “Always the cautious one, eh, Frank. I taught you well.”

“You’re a scumbag,” Frank said mouth tight. “Using soldiers like that. Stuffing that shit into them. Disrespecting honorable men and women.”

Ray shrugged. “Business, Frank. Just a means to an end. It’s not like they cared.”

Frank took two quick steps up and butted the end of the rifle into Ray’s face. Blood spurted. Schoonover’s eyes turned hard and cold. He wiped the blood with the back of his hand, eyes never leaving Frank’s face.

“Who’s the Blacksmith?” Frank’s lip twisted. “’Cuz it ain’t you. You couldn’t get to our testimony. Our evidence.”

Schoonover leaned back on the chair, leg crossed ankle to knee not caring that he had four assault weapons pointed at him, ready to make him a human version of swiss cheese.

“Did you really think a shaky video of _Morty Bennett_ and his lackeys shoving kilos of heroin into dead bodies was going to be enough?”

“You were there, asshole.”

Ray chuckled, rubbed his jaw. “Was I? Almost looked like that image of me was from another video. The lighting you see, it was all off.”

“Don’t you fucking lie! You were there. We,” he motioned to Bill, “saw you. Watching Bennett do that shit. Supervising the asshole who couldn’t wipe his ass without instructions and a diagram.”

This time Ray laughed. “True. Morty thinks he’s such a soldier. So good at his job. Guess he’s the perfect example of shit floating up.”

Frank tried to control his rage. He had respected - _liked_ \- this man who’d taught him to be a soldier. A big part of who Frank Castle, the Marine, was due to Major, now Colonel, Ray Schoonover. He’d never been so wrong about someone before.

“Why?” Frank’s finger tapped rhythmically against the side of the trigger. “Those men and women respected you. Followed you into a goddamn trap. Went to hell and back for you and you what? Spit on that respect. Why?”

Ray’s head tilted a bit. “Money.” As if that was the obvious explanation. “Do you think I could afford this,” his hand raised circling around the study, “on a major’s salary? Even a silver leaf wouldn’t have gotten me this house.”

“You betray the Corps for goddamn money?”

Ray shrugged. “Good of a reason as any.”

“You’re a sorry piece of shit, you know that?”

“A rich one.”

_You could've been part of it, like Gosnell. You could've been rich._

“Yeah. How are you going to enjoy your money when I put a bullet in your head, huh? You tell me that.”

“Frank.” Bill’s voice held a warning. They needed information from Schoonover, and the dead don’t talk. There was a black, burning fire inside Frank itching to end this sonuvabitch. But it also held a promise that Colonel Ray Schoonover would die tonight.

“The Blacksmith erased all of our evidence and testimony,” Bill said.

“Why is he still after us? Revenge? He doesn't want to give up that method of hiding that shit?”

Ray looked confused, then he chuckled, harsh and condensing. “You think this is just about the drugs? You have a gift for violence and death, but God you are stupid, Frank.

“Cerberus wasn’t sanctioned by Congress.” He waited and got the response he wanted, doubt permeated out of Frank.

“Yes, that’s right. It was a hit squad in every sense of the word. Yes, you took out insurgents by the dozens. But you also took out any threat to the status quo. Honest policemen, aspiring politicians, noisy reporters. The competition.

“It was funded by the drugs, yes, and it made many of us very wealthy men. And that was the problem. The two of you didn’t partake. Too goddamn straight and narrow. All about justice and honor. The Cerberus squad are either corrupt or dead. The two of you are just loose ends.”

Frank’s blood ran cold. He glanced over at Bill, and it was clear he was thinking the same thing: Davis.

“You had Davis killed? You killed his family to get to him?” Rage churned within him. “You killed that beautiful little girl because her daddy wasn’t a scumbag?

Ray nodded, face twisting in a grimace. “Not my call how it was done, but Davis had too much integrity. Since Campbell and Carter were already dead. Taking out Davis’ as an ‘accident’ was deemed the best alternative.”

“You KNEW! Knew that they were going to take out a mother and her daughter and you just sat back and let it happen?” That dark, angry mass boiled over.

 Frank looked at Bill who nodded. Plan or no plan, they were done, and Schoonover was dead. Frank raised his weapon.

“Frank, stop!” Karen’s voice was cold, clear water on that hot, bubbling rage churning within Frank. “You don’t have to kill him.” Even her voice held a _yet_ and it soothed that raging beast inside him. “If you kill him now, it won’t matter who killed Davis and his family. You will never see justice served. _They_ will never get justice.” _The plan. Stick to the program. Kill him later._

“So he’s after us because we can name everyone on the take?” Bill’s voice broke through the thick silence.

Ray eyed Frank warily but turned to Bill. “I thought you were smarter than that, Russo.” Ray’s lip curled up in an ugly twisted smile. “You could name all the military names you wanted. You could have a tape of us dancing while shoving the drugs into corpses. Testified until you turned blue and _nothing_ would have changed.”

“Because of the Blacksmith?” Frank’s eyes narrowed. “If that sonuvabitch is so powerful, why is he still after us? Revenge?”

Ray’s head dipped, urging Frank to continue or follow the logical conclusion. When Frank didn’t, Schoonover pursed his lips in disappointment. “And because you’ve seen him, Frank. You know who he is, you know the Blacksmith’s identity. Have all this time.”

Frank shook his head. “No. We don’t.”

“Jesus, Frank. One plus one is two. Cerberus was run by the CIA.”

“We know that.” He paused. “That so-called intelligence officer was CIA?”

Bill groaned. “Agent Orange is the Blacksmith.”

“Congratulations, Captain Obvious, and his slow sidekick. At least you’ve finally figured it out.” Ray chuckled. “I just led - no - I had to pull you, kicking and screaming to that information. I think he overestimated the two of you. You didn’t see anything, and even if you did, you couldn’t put it together if someone handed you the glue and instructions. You're just dumb grunts. Tools to be used.”

“You saw something else,” Talia said. “The Blacksmith - Agent Orange - doing something or talking to someone.”

Schoonover turned to her, a slow grin playing over his face. “Pretty to look at and certainly smarter than those two.” Ray jerked Bill’s and Frank’s direction. Ray eyed her head to toe and back again, appreciatively.

Bill blocked Ray’s line of sight. “Don’t look at her.”

“You were always one for the ladies, Russo.” Schoonover looked up at Frank, this time his lips twisting in a sinister line. “So nice of you to bring SHIELD agents to our little reunion.”

There was no masking the surprise in everyone’s faces. Other than Ray Schoonover’s that is.

“Oh, we know all about SHIELD Agents Karen Page,” he turned to each woman, “and Crystalia Amaquelin. But it’s actually STAKE, right?”

“There’s more,” Karen said.

Frank was waiting for her to say it. Schoonover had more on them or on the Blacksmith?

“You know there’s more,” Ray said. “That’s what you do, right? Read people’s mind. Like you’re reading mine right now.”

Karen’s face tightened. “You know I can’t read you.”

Stunned silence hung in the room making the air thick and heavy.

“At least that scary bitch did her job, then.”

Karen and Talia shared one of their looks, but this time even Frank could tell that they knew exactly who the ‘scary bitch’ that Schoonover was talking about.

“You’re going to find that those magnificent psy skill of yours are going to be less useful than you ever thought possible.”

Frank wanted to wipe that self-satisfied smile right off the man’s face. “You don’t get to talk to them.”

“Why not? You brought them to my doorstep, just like I knew you would.”

Frank froze. Even that rage monster that was a permanent companion was still. Had he just dragged Karen - and Talia - into the lion’s den? Shit. _Please tell me I didn't._

Ray took advantage of the moment of hesitation, got up and walked to the desk, sitting on the edge. “Did you think He didn’t know about you and your little team? Did you ever wonder how both of you ended up in this case? Shut out from your team.”

“He knew?” Karen’s voice was tight. “How?”

“Where is our team?”

Schoonover turned to Talia first. “Since we are all going to be friends by the end of this evening, I see no harm sharing.” He leaned back, crossing his arms. “They are being swarmed by vampires. Multiple nests in collusion. The Blacksmith has a variety of associates. Perhaps some of your friends might even survive.”

Green eyes flashed with cold fury and Schoonover dropped to his knees, clawing at his throat.

“Temper. Or I’ll make sure. None of them. Survive.” He choked out, struggling to get air into his lungs.

Bill’s hand reached out, landing on Talia’s shoulder and squeezing gently. “Talia.” She released Ray, then wiped the bloody trail off her cheek.

“He’s going to love, you.” Ray pushed himself back up, calculating blue eyes coldly assessed Talia, before turning to Karen. “He left some very subtle clues for your director, and played him like a two-bit fiddle.”

 _Fuck._ The Blacksmith was getting a two for one, and Frank just walked two powerful Inhumans into the clutches of a master criminal with reach into the US Government.

“Why do you think he sent those two psychos and their lizard overlord?” Ray said continued. “It wasn’t to kill you. Kill them?” He pointed to Frank and Bill. “Certainly. But he has plans for the two of you.”

Frank decked Schoonover. Didn’t use the rifle, just his bare knuckles splitting skin and breaking nose. One hit. Two. Three.

Bill had to pull him off Ray who pushed himself up against the desk. He wiped off the blood across his forearm.

“Always had anger issues, didn’t you, Frank?” Schoonover spit a mass of blood on the rug and wooden floor. “It works for you in combat, but how’s it going to work back in the civilian world? Mark my words, not well.”

 

 

 

“Guys. Guys you have incoming hostiles. Ten from the back. Eight rounding the front. Whatta you want me to do? Watta you wan’ me to do?” David’s voice crackled over the headsets.

“Karen?”

Karen reached out…and found nothing. No mental signatures. No thoughts. No intent. Frantic blue eyes filled with uncertainty snapped up to meet Frank’s. She shook her head and turned to Talia.

Talia’s mouth opened into a slight o, then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Blood immediately started pouring out of her, and she dropped to one knee.

“Okay, Talia, I’m assuming that was you,” David coughed, “who took out two.”

Two for that amount of blood wasn’t good. Not at all. Talia had bled less in that alley, and she’d taken out way more men. It meant that they had overtaxed. Twenty-four hours wasn’t enough rest. Their powers now where a fraction of their potential.

“Okay,” Frank said. “We do this the old-fashioned way. We bring them to us. Close quarters will be our advantage.”

Ray stood up in front of his desk and leaned into it a bit. Karen wanted to rip that self-satisfied smile off his face.

“Don’t mind me,” Ray said. “I’ll just sit here and — ”

The glass door cracked and shards went flying. Ray jerked forward and off the desk. Small ink spots blossomed into a massive splatter and kept spreading out of the middle of his chest. A frozen breath turned into a sharp gasp, and he took a half-step forward. Short, shallow breaths turned into a tortured huff. Ray touched the sudden wetness, and his hand came out a sticky red.

Ray Schoonover was dying and knew it, his mind was screaming. He dropped to one knee and turned to Frank, eyes begging the man he’d ridiculed to end it quickly otherwise this agonizing attempt to get air into his shredded lungs and through his body could last endless, painful minutes.

Frank was an open book to Karen, his mind was screaming, too. Protect. Shield. Kill. All of them. He stared at the man who’d been his mentor and sneered. Good. You deserve it you scumbag. Then flashes of good memories. The reason why he’d trusted and respected Schoonover. How the man had _taught_ him to be a Marine. _Fuck._

Frank put a bullet above the left brow of Colonel Ray Schoonover. The corpse crumbled to the floor.

“Bill, Talia. The door.” Frank looked at Karen. “Can you get a line of fire behind that chair? Stay low. Away from the window.”

Karen nodded. That storm was swirling around him, sharp and focused. Frank moved across from her, back against the wall, weapon raised and looked at her again with worried eyes. That storm stretched and reached out to her.

_I cannot let that happen to you._

She embraced the storm, then aimed.

The universe stood still. It didn’t, just felt like it did. Total silence, no movement in the study, they were barely breathing.

“They’re in. Don’t die. Don’t die.” Crackled in their ears.

They came through both doors at the same time. Or tried to. Karen and Frank took out four that had been clustered together. Stupid. The remaining four were smarter, took cover and started firing. Bullets hit glass with the force of a sledgehammer, and a million shattered pieces rained throughout the study.

The hostiles inside the house were smarter. They were not clustered together for easy shots. Talia took out the lead. Billy yanked the second man in, and she shot him too. The third man was shot by Frank who just happened to have a line of sight.

Then the smoke grenades were launched inside from both sides. Multiple canisters that filled the room quickly. One bounced near Karen who, without hesitation, threw it back like a pro-pitcher. The smoke started to move as if it had a life of its own just as the men breached.

Billy hit the nearest man, cracking his mask. It was enough for smoke to force its way inside and rush to attack the brain. The man went down holding his throat and coughing, but not for long. Bill kicked a knee, spun and grabbed the next man’s arm bending it in a way God had not intended. It broke, the weapon at the end of that arm dropped. Bill grabbed his knife and stabbed another man under the chin.

Frank threw himself into the men attempting to enter via the remnants of the glass door. He took down two men with him, it was enough to stun them. Frank rolled over one man using him as a shield as a cascade of bullets rained down on him.

Karen cursed at jarhead stupidity and came out from behind the chair. Frank was on the floor with a meat shield protecting him. So she just opened fire taking out the remaining men who were standing. Frank pushed the Swiss cheese corpse off, pulled out his knife and struck at the last man, still on the ground, in the neck, repeatedly.

The last three men burst through the door. All of the smoke was gathered and then pushed to them like a thick blanket. Bill grabbed the discarded assault rifle and unloaded into the cloud.

And then there were none.

“Anybody bleeding?” Frank’s voice was rough and raspy.

“Not from anywhere important,” Talia’s strained voice sounded out.

“OK, there are four heat signatures left, and it’s you guys, right?”

David’s voice was a welcomed distraction. “Yes, David. It’s us.”

“Yeah, I knew it the whole time. But listen, you have to get out now. There’s something weird coming at you from the back.”

“Weird how?” Frank’s eyes were studying her, ensuring himself Karen was all right.

“There were three, then a blur and everything disappeared, then two, then none.”

“I hate it when there’s three of them,” Billy said. “Can we leave now before they get here? Last time wasn’t so great.”

The others didn’t have to be told twice. The mental scars from Agony and Illusion were still fresh. They walked with quick steps out of the study and to the front double doors. Their car was less than one hundred yards down the private driveway leading to the house.

“No. Nonononono, wait!” David’s pitch was high enough for all four of them to wince.

There was a blur and the hard crunching sound of their bodies hitting the ground. Then they were levitating off the ground. Two feet, five, eight, twelve before being unceremoniously released to crash into the ground. The fall hurt enough to daze them for precious seconds. The blur reappeared, with a sharp tug and vicious yank, their assault rifles were gone.

“If you weren’t so much trouble, I’d be impressed by the skill in the destruction you’ve caused.”

Karen looked up at the man with a milky eye who was Agent Orange. Billy had relayed the story of how Frank had lost it at the end of a mission they’d known had been a trap but had been ordered to go anyway. He’d have killed the man they now understood to be The Blacksmith had Bill and Gunner Henderson not pulled Frank off. They’d all wished Frank had been allowed to finish the job.

There were two people beside him, a man and a woman, who must be the blur and the levitator. Karen racked her brain for any files of Inhumans with either skill and came up empty. She looked at Talia who shook her head. She didn’t know either.

“Agent Karen Page,” the Blacksmith said, a thin, oily smile on his lips. “I have been waiting to meet you for years. Ever since you took out my operation in Istanbul. You cost me a lot of money. You and your partner that is, Agent Crystalia Amaquelin. Or should it be Your Royal Highness? I always get confused with monarchy.

“Since we’re all here, let me introduce myself—”

“Scumbag,” Talia sneered, going up one knee, “yeah, we figured that out. Thanks.”

There was a blur and Talia went flying backward. She landed in an unconscious heap. Bill scooted towards her, but the blur hit him in the opposite direction.

There was a twitch Agent Orange’s cheek. “I expected more from royalty, even alien one.” His jaw hardened as Billy got up, rubbing his jaw. “I think we’ll keep all of you apart for now. Where was I, right. The Blacksmith. Yes, but that’s so impersonal, William Rawlins. Will to my friends.

“They will never be your friends, you piece of shit.”

“Go ahead,” Rawlins said to the man, “but make it a little higher this time.”

Frank flew up in the air some fifteen feet before crashing down on his shoulder. He hit hard, air whooshing out of him, and if something wasn’t dislocated, it was bruised as hell.

 _We don_ _’t know the extent of his range or power._

Karen breathed a sigh of relief. Talia was playing possum and doing a masterful job at it. Rawlins and his minions were totally discounting her.

 _They are shielded. All of them like Schoonover._ Karen had opened up all her passive lanes of information in an attempt to not alert any of them that she was testing their mental defenses.

_I thought we killed that bitch._

_You collapsed a cave on top of Malice. It should have been enough._

_I_ _’m decapitating the bitch next time. Take the blur, her shield will be the weakest. Malice has jealousy issues about all other women._

Karen had forgotten about that. Malice, a psy of incredible talent and power, was a vainglorious asshole who saw every other woman as beneath her. Or a threat that needed to be taken out. She would never protect another woman in the same manner as a man. That shield the blur was given had cracks that Karen could punch through.

All Karen had to do was find them. She looked at Rawlins and then through him, eyes unseeing as she mentally focused on the woman. They were running out of time.

Frank and Bill were hurtling insults at Rawlins causing him to lose his temper and use both the levitator and the blur to hurt them.

After several punches that left both men with split lips, it was Bill who was tossed in the air and allowed to drop. Frank was hit again, his cheek already forming a bruise.

Karen made a cursory evaluation of their injuries as quickly as she could. They were out of time. She zeroed in on Frank.

_Get ready._

He blinked and turned to her. Karen gave him a slow nod.

That storm of his was leashed in order to protect her. Frank Castle had no sense of self-preservation. He was buying her time. Again.

She took a deep breath and unleashed his storm, embracing it like a familiar friend. Blue eyes became white on white, and Karen punched through the blur’s shield hard enough to physically leave a path of destruction. The woman stumbled mid-step, crashing to the ground in front of William Rawlings.

The Blacksmith stared at the woman, waiting for her to get up. Even a true necromancer wouldn’t have enough material to raise her again.

The second she’d fallen, Frank was up. Charging towards Rawlins. Bill was close behind.

The levitator took a step and collapsed. Talia’s eyes were bleeding, there was no white, just red.

Rawlins stumbled back, backpedaling as fast as he could. Then liquid metal quickly covered his skin until he looked like he’d been dipped in quicksilver. He stopped and Frank crashed into him like a freight train except Rawlins was the train.

Frank bounced off and landed on the ground dazed. Bill had been several steps behind and skidded to a stop. He picked up a discarded assault rifle and released a stream of bullets only to see them get absorbed by metal-Rawlins.

“I was going to be nice. I would have taken the Inhumans and killed you quickly. But now I’m going to make you hurt.”

The liquid pulled itself apart then pooled back together again. There was a flash of clothes as the metal shifted. Then shards exploded out of Rawlins.

Frank, only half up, got hit twice in the leg and grazed on the hip and side, throwing him backward and out of reach.  A piece that would've punctured Karen's eye slid across her cheek instead when she twisted in the last second. Other projectiles hit her body armor on the side and back of her body momentum pushing her down to her knees.

Two bits hit Billy in the shoulder with enough force to got through and through. Body armor stopped the next two, but it couldn't stop the ones heading for his head. Talia stopped those by stepping in front of him, hand extended. They fell harmlessly to the ground. She couldn’t stop the next three that crashed into her body armor, but everything else bounced off the newly created shield.

_SUV!_

Karen didn’t wait for an explanation. Just pushed herself up and ran down the ninety yards or so until she found their parked SUV. The keys had been left on the ignition for this specific purpose. A quick getaway. Karen turned the vehicle, aiming it for metal-Rawlins.

It was going to work, or it would end really badly for her. But she’d calculated that Rawlins had spent enough energy to weaken his metal body. She prayed her estimation was right. If she was wrong, she wouldn't be around to worry about it.

Rawlins was still launching projectiles when the SUV hit his lower back, sending him careening up and out, then crashing in a misshapen heap on the gravel, unmoving. The airbags released, but Karen didn’t need them, she’d created a perfectly formed shield to protect herself, without even thinking.

Billy wrapped his good arm around Talia, cradling the shoulder that had been shot. Frank limped up beside them, and Karen was still behind the wheel, resting on the inflated airbag.

It was over. The Blacksmith was dead. The terror had ended.

Karen breathed a sigh of relief. Frank was safe.

_I want a raise. And a vacation._

Karen covered the hysterical giggle with her mouth.

 _At least we_ _’re not ending up in TAHITI._

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

 

_SNAP. GRIND. CRUNCH. CRACKLE._

 

Frank, Talia, and Bill turned to the wet metallic noises. … _DA FUCK?!_ The broken, twisted body of William Rawlins snapped itself into place, piece by broken piece. They stood frozen. Confounded and horrified.

Then metal-Rawlins, the silver that covered him now transparent enough to see the human body beneath it, reached up and touched the Lexus. And weak human flesh started to disappear under the unstoppable silver.

_GET IN THE CAR!_

It wasn’t an order. Frank, Talia, and Bill were moving before the thought finished being yelled in their heads. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a compulsion. One where they had no choice whatsoever.

Karen with her white on white eyes and a monster storm at her back had taken control of three strong-willed, independent minds, one equal to her in psy ability and made them do what she wanted.

She peeled down the lawn and into the street before the doors were even closed. A torrent of metal bombarded the SUV, shattering windows and leaving pockmarks in the body of the vehicle, but it touched none of the occupants.

Karen wouldn't let it.

 

 


	9. Road Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter veered in an unexpected direction. What can I say other than I just went with it? What happens in the next chapter was supposed to happen here, so instead of one slow-down chapter setting up the finale, there are two. Hopefully, it provides some answers without info-dumping. Again, as always, please let me know if it doesn't work (drags/doesn't make any sense). All of your comments are pure gold and much appreciated.

 

“Karen! Copy? Talia. Castle. Russo!” The voice burst in their ears enough for all of them to cringe. “Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.”

“David, we’re not dead.”

Karen was still driving like a bat out of hell as far away from Rawlins as possible. The nearest highway was the immediate goal, and when that had been achieved, the I-287 had been closer than expected, she’d just kept driving, over the Hudson without stopping. Even if she had no idea where to go.

“Oh, thank God, Karen. What the hell happened? The last thing I saw was three hostiles in the front, and then the drone just slammed into the ground. And all I got was dead air when I tried you guys.”

Huh. The levitator must have downed the drone. Maybe his power had been more than just a simple lift and drop at will. Could have used it to pull the drone out of the sky. That meant he was more than just a levitator. Maybe he had other skills as well. Well, had had. He wouldn’t be using _any_ talent now. Or ever.

STAKE never found all of the people that had been experimented on with Gravitonium. If he’d been one of those than his body would have to release it and that would be dangerous for everyone in the area. This needed SHIELD’s attention immediately.

“David, scan that area. Check for Gravitonium leakage.”

“Gravi-Jesus.”

Karen finally took stock of her team. They were alive, but all three looked like hell.

“Okay, how bad? Do we need to hit an ER?” Her eyes darted from the road to the injured passengers.

Frank grimaced, the lacerations on his face and lip cracking at the strain. A dark puddle, evident even on the black leather, pooled at his side. Billy hissed as he moved, favoring one shoulder. Neither man would be completely honest with their injuries. Not while they were still on the run.

“Keep driving,” Frank growled in a pained half-whisper.

“Yeah,” was all the bite Billy could manage.

Both of them, cheeks already darkening into deep purples and split lipped, were looking a little gray. There had to be more bruises from all the drops from the levitator, too. So cracked ribs and dislocated shoulders wouldn’t be out of the question.

“No ER,” Talia said, and her voice eased Karen’s worries. Regardless of what the men said, if Talia decided medical care was needed, there would be no arguments about it. “But I could use about three double bacon cheeseburgers and twelve hours of sleep.”

Karen saw her lean over and check on Billy’s shoulder.

Deep brown eyes flashed. “Don’t you dare try to heal this. Or him.” Billy nodded to Frank in the front seat.

“Dude, are you seriously trying to tell me what to do?”

Billy’s face twisted. “Did you just call me, dude?”

Talia pushed some of the fabric away from the injured shoulder. Billy hissed but allowed her gentle probing, bracing when she checked the back for exit wounds.

“They are perfect,” Talia said. “Considering you have holes you don’t need.” She dug out perfectly round silver pellets that had been embedded in her body armor. They hadn’t been squashed on impact which meant they weren’t playing by the normal rules of physics. The silver rolled around her fingers until it suddenly melted. “Ewww.” She wiped her hand on the black jeans.

“What?”

“Frank, your wounds. Through and through or do you have something still there?” Talia pushed herself forward until she was between the two front seats.

Frank shifted and grimaced, flinching when his hands roamed particularly sore spots. “Through and through.”

“Okay,” Talia said, leaning back into the seat with eyes closed.

Billy’s good arm snaked out lightning quick with a vice-like grip on Talia’s shoulder. “Talia! Don’t.”

“Again with the ordering,” Talia complained, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “There’s only one place I’d consider that acceptable and this ain't it.”

Talia’s face twisted into a scowl, then she turned to Billy. “It’s a passive scan. Just double checking to make sure nothing important got knicked.” Her fingers curled against his cheek. “I couldn’t heal either one of you right now even if I wanted to. I can’t even block the pain.”

Bill grabbed her hand, kissing the knuckles. “Don’t call me, dude.” He squeezed tight before letting it go.

“And I need to make sure none of this silver goop is still in any of us. For all we know, metal-bag can track his detached pieces. Like what’s his face from Philly. Kept leaving bits of himself around then reattaching them. He could always find those things, too.”

Nothing like being reminded of an Inhuman who was as close to a Hollywood zombie as they’d ever seen, except worse since the rotting flesh could be reabsorbed. It had been worse than dealing with ghouls of Atlanta.

“Ewww.” Karen’s nose wrinkled. “Okay. We ditch the car.” Just in case it was about to become one huge balefire for Rawlins. She looked in the rearview mirror at Billy. “Up to hot-wiring another car?”

“At your service, ma’am.”

Karen nodded. “Suggestions where?”

“Hospital,” Frank answered. “Parking lots are easy targets.”

Karen looked at him sideways. His shoulder moved up carelessly before ending in a jagged hiss of pain mid-roll. It was the side the levitator had dropped him on, and Karen felt a muted wave of pain. Damn the man, he was trying to hide the extent of the injury from her.

“Aw, they grow so fast,” Bill said. “But he’s right hospitals work well especially if we hit the employee parking lot. And we need to keep these plates. They are registered to SHIELD.”

Karen and Talia looked at each other. “Leo.”

“Okay,” David started over the headset, “no Gravitonium, but what I’d call its half-sibling. It’s weird, Karen. So much so, I sent a SHIELD team in Hazmats. Someone is playing with some seriously risky toys.

“What’s your ETA? I’ll get Sarah—”

“No,” Karen said, the tone leaving no room for argument. “We’re not coming back. It’s too dangerous.” She had no idea where they were going, but hell no, would she lead, even accidentally, the Blacksmith to the Lieberman’s. Especially if the silver bits peppering the car were going to become a beacon for the bad guys.

“Karen—”

“Are you questioning my decisions in the field?” Karen white-knuckled the steering wheel. Frank’s gaze was palpable for an endless second, then he turned away looking out the window. She didn’t miss the soft huff and the fact that his hand was trying to hide a faint grin.

“No, ma’am,” David finally said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Heavy, angry silence reached out from Yonkers. “And I’m telling Sarah.”

Karen’s lip twitched, they’d deal with that bridge later. It was a roundabout way to the hospital, but they eventually turned into the parking structure marked ‘Employees Only.’

“Love you, too, David. Dedicate and encrypt a sat-line. We’ll be in touch. Out.” She unhooked the headset. “Toss the headsets. For all we know, Gravi-Man could have left traceable remnants on our tech as well.”

They all took off the headsets, dropping them on the floor since they wouldn’t be using this car for much longer.

“Billy?” Karen needed guidance. Stealing cars was not in her resume.

“Drive up another level, and any dark SUV will do.” He eyed Talia with a wicked smile. “Wanna help me hot-wire a car?”

Talia’s lips hitched up. “You tryin’ to sweet talk me, Russo?”

“Yes, ma’am, I am. Think I’m doing a pretty good job of it, too.”

“Good enough?” Karen stopped behind a black Porsche Cayenne.

Talia laughed. “Some doctor is going to be mighty peeved come end of shift.” They climbed out and got down to the business of borrowing a car without permission.

Karen looked at Frank who was quite a shade paler than before, but the pool on his side didn’t look any more substantial. Still worried her, though.

“Still bleeding?”

“I’ve had worse.” He straightened and grimaced, gripping the wounded side. “We need to get the plates and gear.”

Karen nodded. And when all four of them, two still bleeding and for once it wasn’t Karen and Talia, worked in tandem, they moved the gear and plates in less than six minutes. Karen drove their bullet cratered SUV up one more level and parked it, then went back to the Cayenne.

“I think I can hot-wire cars now.”

Karen bit off a smile and got back on the interstate. “Good to have new skills. We need to find a place to stop and patch you—”

“Get back on the I-287,” Frank said, voice flat and authoritative. “We’re fine.” He shifted the makeshift bandages in place. “Need to get away from New York and all these civilians.”

Karen licked her lips, glancing warily at Frank and his bloody bandages. She looked in the mirror and saw Talia push something against Bill’s shoulder.

“Let’s just pull—”

“Moorehead, Kentucky,” Frank said. “We’ll trade off when you get tired.” He grimaced again, shifting gingerly on the seat.

Karen sent out her feelers, but there was no rage, no storm. Just a familiar indomitable determination overriding dull, numbing aches.

“We need some first—”

“Drive, Karen.” His voice was tight, with a hint of pain, but commanding.

“Are you telling me what to do?” Goddammit, she thought they’d gotten past this. “Again.”

His granite-like jaw was set firmly. “You drive. Or I will. It’s at least a ten-hour drive. Bill?” Frank settled in for the long drive.

Frank wouldn’t look in Karen’s direction, but this time there was a burst of regret and acceptance. She wasn’t sure she liked whatever he was thinking, but Karen wasn’t about to dig deeper into his mind. He’d suffered enough from Agony and was still mentally sore. He didn’t need her poking around just because they were fighting.

“Yeah. I’m good.” He turned to Talia. “I hate it when Mommy and Daddy fight.”

Talia bit back a snort.

_Really? Et tu, Brute?_

_Get out of New York and the surrounding areas. Four hours should be good enough to make it hard on Malice to find us. Then find a place to crash._

Distance between them and Malice was the right call. She’d be focusing in New York, Manhattan first. Malice may be an excellent mental tracker, but she wouldn’t expect them to leave the state. She’d blow through a ton of energy to finally find them in Kentucky.

“Fine.” She wouldn’t look at Frank, though. The man was seriously pissing her off. “But I’m not doing it because you told me to.”

Bill turned to Talia. “And we will have a conversation about you stepping in front of bullets meant for me.”

Talia rolled her eyes. _Men._

 _At this rate, we_ _’re going to shoot them ourselves._

 

 

The first time Frank lost consciousness, panic rolled through Karen like thunder.

_Talia!_

There was a long pause. So long that Karen almost pulled over to check on all three.

 _It_ _’s OK. Blood loss, but not bad. It just finally caught up to him. And I’ve been pushing them to sleep for the last forty-five minutes._

If it took that long, then Talia was in trouble too.

_Talia—_

_No, it_ _’s okay. I was doing gentle pushing. Last time I pushed too hard, especially after what they’d been through. Especially Frank._

Karen was worried about that. He might not be a Psyonic, but damage was damage.

_How bad?_

_Actually, not bad all things considering. Just a big bruise. And what_ you _did_ _…_

Karen had been ignoring _that_ since it happened. According to her file and skill-set, she shouldn't be able to control _any_ mind. Just plant suggestions or melt them from the inside out. She shouldn't have been able to take over one person, much less three.

 _I didn_ _’t mean to. Panicked when I saw Rawlins start to get up._ They were going to have to talk about that, too. _Are you going to tell Fury?_

That was protocol. Any new skills had to be reported, evaluated and cleared by SHIELD. They couldn't have someone take over minds like Kilgrave out of the blue. That’s why there were watch lists. Talia and Karen would have to report their trips to nuclear town and the recoveries from it. Talia would have to report that she’d done it twice in less than an hour without becoming catatonic or comatose.

_Do I have to? Do you have an unusual penchant for purple?_

Her needling eased Karen’s tension. Technically, yes, Talia had to report it. But that’s not what she’d meant. Are you going to turn into another murderous mind-controlling sociopath? Karen didn’t think she could even if she’d wanted to. There had been a spike in adrenalin caused by fear for Frank, Talia, and Russo.

_That man ruined purple for me._

She’d also reached out to that now familiar storm, calling upon the power within it for her own use. It had been so easy, an extension of herself, automatic like breathing. That shouldn't have been possible either. Hell, that monster fueled by rage and darkness shouldn’t even exist.

Karen had forced the other three into the SUV, but she’d also slowed Rawlins just enough for them to get away. That meant something even more terrifying. Perhaps it was way past time to pay a visit to the Ancient One again.

Karen focused and reached out again, not sure what she expected. It wasn’t visible, but the storm was there simmering under the surface. She sent a soothing wave, and then it got weird. That wildness responded to her just like that damn Symbiote. Well, it didn’t speak. It couldn’t, but it sensed her. Welcomed her. The simmering calmed into swirls of inviting power. Fascinated, she stretched out to touch it.

_Karen. You're drifting._

Karen blinked. The Cayenne had shifted over a lane and was on its way to moving into another. Okay, no playing with the storm while driving.

But she was going to try that again.

 _We_ _’re going to need to talk._

_Are you dumping me for a Marine you just met?_

_Talia!_ Karen wasn't going to dump anyone. _We need to talk about Frank. And his storm._

 

 

Frank and Billy didn’t wake when they’d made the first stop. Talia had been able to put them into deeper restorative sleep about an hour after their talk and that had been three hours ago.

Their stop hadn't been that long, a twenty-four-hour mart because they had no idea how long they’d be in Kentucky and were not about to live with just one pair of underwear. Well, Talia went into the store because Karen still had cloudy white eyes, but at least she’d graduated to having irises now.

It was up to Talia’s discretion to pick up supplies for all four of them. That included clothes. Karen could only guess what Frank and Billy were going to get stuck in since Talia had a wicked sense of humor. Karen wouldn't be surprised if Talia picked up one of those gaudy but hilarious assassin riding a flaming unicorn t-shirt just to irritate Billy. Karen hoped there was a second one for Frank. And knowing that the bill was going to be on SHIELD, Talia was sure to spare no expense for absolute humiliation.

After that was done, it was a quick drive to a hole in a wall red-roofed inn just off the interstate. Talia had to go in for that, too. Karen took the respite to lean back and send out mental feelers careful not to push too hard, too fast and too loud to avoid alerting Malice. When there was no sign of the other Psy’s slithering probes as far as the Hudson, Karen breathed a sigh of relief. Malice was likely in Manhattan. That should keep her occupied for a while.

Frank jerked awake, blinking and looking around wildly. Hissing at the pain caused by the sharp movements.

“Hey.” Karen reached out to tap his forearm, but Frank grabbed her hand instead and held on. “It’s okay. We’re fine. You’re fine.”

He looked at their interlaced fingers for several long seconds. Karen didn’t pull away, and it wasn’t clear which one of them was more surprised.

“Where are we?” His voice was raspy and still tinged with the daze of sleep.

“Maryland.”

Frank’s eyes cleared immediately. “Why did we stop? I can drive if you’re tired.”

“We need it.” Karen unbuckled his seatbelt. “Talia and I need a plan on how to deal with Rawlins and with what happened. He has a Psy working for him, and she will find us. It’s just a matter of time.”

“The more reason to keep going, Karen.”

He was not doing this again to her.

“Unless you suddenly know how to do IVs, we need to stop now.” She pulled her hand out of his grip. “You guys are in no shape to drive, and we need to check your wounds.”

It was her mind that was screaming this time. Drowning out everything else. She was so done with his mistrust in her decision making and abilities as an agent. She opened the door and got out. Quite proud of the fact she didn’t slam the door even though she really wanted to. Karen walked around the back of the Cayenne and took a deep breath. Talia was coming out of the lobby and headed their way.

Frank’s door opened, face contorting in pain, he stiff-legged out of the car. Bill apparently saw that as his cue to get out as well, albeit less stiff-legged, but the wave of pain emanating out of him was just as acute.

“This is not about your competence as an agent, Page.” Frank put his hand on the side of the car to take the pressure off his hip. “This is about getting to a defensible position as soon as possible. We can’t afford to get caught in an area with civilians. Bill and I are fine.”

Karen knew that was a good point. But she had no interest in explaining to him how they knew this was safe. How all of them needed to recuperate, if only for a few hours. That she needed this time to figure out how they were going to deal with the psycho bitch that was more dangerous that Agony and Illusion combined. Not to mention how the hell Rawlins had done that popping grinding thing he had. Kinda hard to deal with an Inhuman villain who could regenerate.

She could’ve explained all that, but chose not to.

“Frank. You need to listen to me right now.” That storm of his was awake again. She felt it down to her bones. “This isn’t up for debate. It isn't a democracy. We’ll go to Kentucky, but we’ll do it my way. If you have a problem with that you can take it up with the Director of SHIELD, you can walk to Kentucky, or I’ll just have Talia knock you out.”

“Again,” Bill pipped in, eyes hard on Talia who had walked up in time to hear Karen.

Talia’s eyes darted between Karen and Frank who were knee deep in a sexually charged standoff while avoiding Billy’s attempt at his own stare down. She was having none of it.

With a wicked grin, she held out two sets of key cards. “So, does this mean Frank is sleeping with me tonight?”

Karen was bombarded by some R-rated images of Talia with a dark-haired man, but before a face was shown, the picture changed into one of Tony Stark making out, quite awkwardly, with one of his suits.

The laugh was smothered into a loud snort, and Karen could only cover her mouth and look away from everyone. Frank and Bill didn’t have the privilege of seeing the image, and their reactions were as expected. Frank had an adorably confused puppy-dog look in his face. Bill, not so much.

Bill grabbed one of the dangling key cards and grimaced when the shot-up shoulder stretched a bit too far. “No. He is _not_ sleeping with you.” He cradled the hurt shoulder. “Which room.”

“One-o-one. Are all Marines such drama-llamas?” Talia dropped the key card into Karen’s waiting hand, then opened the trunk and pulled out one of their newly bought duffel bags. She looked at the still silent Frank. “Guess I just answered my own question. You guys are in one-o-two.” She followed Billy to their room.

Karen, who now will never be able to look at Tony Stark in the same manner ever again, picked up the other duffel and closed the back of the Cayenne. She looked at Frank, the swirling storm all around him and gave him a sad little smile.

“Feel free to bunk with them if you want,” she said. “Or me. Up to you.” She walked around him and headed for the other room.

It was a nice, clean room all things, considered since this was a hole in the wall non-chain inn. There were two queen beds, a desk pushed against the wall, a microwave and a small fridge. Karen headed for the microwave, ditched the gloves and immediately popped in one of the breakfast bowls from the duffel. She had just pushed start, when Frank hobbled into the room, met her gaze with those damn expressive, deep-pooled brown eyes of his, then closed the door behind him.

_I need to talk to her alone._

Frank leaned against the desk, looking at the opposite wall. Right after that ‘ _up to you_ _’_ she’d shut everything down and reveled in the silence. Looking at Frank, she was tempted to open up, to soothe, to explain. But didn’t.

The microwave beeped, and she put another bowl in it, then started to eat the first one. The first explosion of egg and potatoes and bacon made her eyes close in gastronomic bliss and a hum of pleasure reverberated from deep within her throat.

“That good?”

 _I_ _’ll do it._

Karen licked her lips and nodded. “Food or shower first?” She was planning on eating, a lot before even thinking about a shower herself, so he was more than free to hit it first. “There’s bowls, burritos, pancakes, and four Hungry Mans.” Or food.

His brows bunched up and she shrugged.

“Not our first rodeo, and we stopped for supplies before ending up here.” When his brow quirked, she knew what he was asking without having to read him. “The credit card is a non-assigned generic SHIELD departmental one. Can’t be traced to individual agents. STAKE is buried under the Special Operations Division which has twelve departments, countless sub-departments and over a thousand agents across the world.”

Frank stared, then nodded or started to but ended up with flinch instead. “Shower. Before I’m too stiff to move.” He tried to lift his arms to take off the black crew shirt they’d all worn under the body armor and immediately stopped when he couldn't lift one side hardly at all. A harsh curse turned the air blue.

Karen thought about how that levitator had dropped Frank hard on the shoulder. A thousand thoughts ran through her head. The automatic one was the fear of touching him, the second was to put the gloves back on just in case, but maybe Talia was right. She put the half-empty bowl on the table, next to the discarded gloves and walked over to him.

“Let me help.” She motioned to the shirt. Nothing to it. Just helping out a friend.

Frank ducked his head, trying to make her meet his eyes, but if that happened, she might chicken out or drown in those dark eyes or worse, kiss him because after everything, including the fights, if she never got a chance to see if those lips were as good as they looked, there was no justice in the universe.

“I guess if I was going to kill you, I would have done it already.” It was only half a joke.

His mouth angled up. “Still might, eh?” Power radiated out of the unseen storm.

Karen smiled. “It’s a thought.” She eased the shirt over his uninjured shoulder and pealed it around the injured one, with Frank’s face getting more and more strained as the fabric moved across the battered muscle and bone.

“Oh, Frank.”

It wasn’t just the shoulder, the bruise was spreading like an ink stain, up towards his neck, and down his arm and torso. Already a dark, angry deep red. There were scars, too. Old ones that were faint silvery lines, and newer ones with puckered pink skin.

So much pain. And suffering. Her heart broke for him all over again. She wanted to kiss all that pain and hurt away. To wrap a blanket of comfort both physical and spiritual.

“Is it dislocated?”

His head moved slowly side to side. Even that seemed to flare up the damaged skin.

“Nah. Just hurts like hell, though.”

Karen’s fingers hovered over the blossoming discoloration, then her fingers touched flesh, careful not to put any pressure but maintain contact. Blue eyes fluttered shut, and she opened up, hard and fast. It was a tsunami, but there was a goal, and she just focused on that. Alleviate the pain.

_One Tesseract. Two Tesseract. Three Tesseract. Four Tesseract. Five Tesseract._

“Karen.” Her name had never sounded so good than in that low, rumbling voice of his, thick with…everything.

“A little better?” She wasn’t ready to break contact. It had nothing to do with trying to heal or ease the pain. Or even coping a feel. It just felt right.

A furrowed brow and downturned lips lined his face. “You did that.”

It was a statement of fact. Frank knew she’d eased the aches, and a wave of concern slammed into her. He was thinking about what she’d done for Talia, and what it had cost her.

“Not like that,” she said. “I didn’t take the pain, just muted it. It’s not healed, so be careful not to make it worse.”

A pain-free, calloused hand wrapped around the ungloved one that was still gingerly touching that massive bruise. He brought it up to those sinful lips and oh so softly, kissed her knuckles, mouth lingering, and giving Karen _ideas._

“Thank you.”

Karen swallowed, forcing her throat to loosen, and nodded. She had to move away because if she didn’t, he’d end up flat on his back with her cowgirling her way to orgasmic heaven. In the end, she’s not brazen like Talia, and he was hurt, but being a man, he’d probably let her have her way with him.

“Need help with the boots?”

He looked down and tried to bend over but hissed, holding that marred side. “How about just the laces?”

She dropped down to a crouch, fingers quickly loosening the nylon, then she tapped his leg, motioning him to lift it up. The boot and sock came off, then the other foot. And when she straightened, things started coming into sharp focus. That sexy dip on the hipbone, ridges and grooves and valleys of pure muscle that was made to be touched and licked and worshipped.

Those ideas must have been telegraphed in her face because his hand came up, thumb caressing her jaw, then he leaned in. Their breaths mingled, and damn if a girl couldn’t get used to that heat. She half expected him to joke about how they keep ending up like this, but there was no teasing this time.

There were three very loud, very sharp knocks on the door.

“Oh, just stuff it, pretty boy.”

Karen curled her lips inward. It was the only way to not scream at the universe. Or at Talia. A bitter chuckle escaped Frank’s lips, then he kissed her on the forehead, and for an endless moment it was just them again.

Then the knocking started again. They couldn't speak, or maybe they were saying everything with just a shared look.

His hand dropped, and he shuffled-staggered to the bathroom, picking up the first aid kit Karen had pulled from the duffel along the way.

Karen sighed and then opened the door. “The universe hates me.”

“Just hate it back,” Talia responded. “That’s what I do.” She popped a mini-pancake in her mouth. “I’ve been knocking forever, and you didn’t answer.”

Karen crossed her arms. “You knocked six times, that does not make forever.”

“I’ve been mentally knocking for the last fifteen, and you weren’t answering. When you shut me out like that, it ain’t good.”

Karen motioned for Talia to enter, then went directly to the microwave and her food. Talia plopped down on the nearest bed.

“Sorry, I just needed a _me_ break,” Karen said, inhaling the last of the breakfast bowl and ripping open the mini-pancake bag.

“Want to talk about it?”

Karen eyed Talia. “Want to talk about ‘stuff it pretty boy’?”

Talia just shoved more pancakes in her mouth. Karen followed suit, and they just sat on the bed eating. When the shower turned on, Talia looked in the direction of the bathroom.

“Stop it,” Karen said sternly but broke into a smile. “You’re incorrigible. But since you’re here. We need to talk.”

They were sitting cross-legged again, facing each other.

 _I need you to see Frank_ _’s storm._

 _You_ _’re worried. Why?_ It didn’t take a Psy to figure out Talia was thinking about their previous conversation. About having to kill Frank Castle. She wouldn’t want to, but she’d do it if he were a threat.

Karen bit her lip. _Because I think it_ _’s changing. Or maybe I am. Or both._

 _And you_ _’re freaking out. But you are evolving. Have been for the last six months, Kare. The Grimm Reaper skin. The Compulsion. The other dozen small things that by themselves don’t mean much but taken in context with the rest, well. You’re really sharp right now. The strongest mentally that I’ve ever seen before._

 _I_ _’m going to end up on that goddamn watch list._ Karen wanted to cry.

Talia reached over and squeezed Karen’s arm. _Eh, don_ _’t freak out about it. I’ve been on it for more than five years, and Fury still trusts me to do my job. Okay, want to show me a memory of that storm? Think that will work?_

Karen nodded. They both took cleansing breaths. It always helped with focusing. That had been the first lesson from the Ancient One. Breathing is important.

Karen started to run through the images of that storm. Beginning with the first wave of rage under the thrall of Agony, then the first time it became visible with Illusion and how after that she could always see it or sense it. Almost like it recognized her, allowing her to touch and access it at will. Karen couldn’t help but connect to it despite all fury and anger and rage.

“Holy shit!” Talia scrambled off the bed, but she was staring at Billy and Frank who were sitting on the opposite bed eating snacks and waiting. Then she turned back to the bed they’d been using. And apparently still were.

She turned to the Karen standing next to her. “Did you just pull me into a pocket dimension?”

“Yeah, it looks like that, but I don’t get it.” She moved around the bed. “We’re not touching. I wasn’t trying to pull you in much less create one. I just wanted to show you memories.”

“You did. That’s why it freaked me out,” Talia said. “That was some scary shit.”

“Until it wasn’t.”

Talia nodded. “Yeah.” She looked at Frank sitting on the bed unmoving and at his storm.

“I think it’s always with him,” Karen said. “Just sometimes it’s under the surface. Sleeping, I don’t know. But it shows up in an instant all black and ragey.”

Talia’s head tilted to the side. “You know what it reminds me of?”

“I swear to Christ,” Karen started, “if you say its name, I’ll strangle you.”

“Now who’s afraid of a summoning via a name?” Talia walked closer to the storm and slammed her knee on the chair. “Goddammit, that hurts.”

“It’s a pocket of dimensional time, not matter. You can’t go through things like a ghost.”

“Could have told me earlier.” She rubbed the aching joint. “This is so cool. I totally want to learn how to do this.”

“I’m not afraid of _it_ ,” Karen said. “It’s not a demon that can be summoned by name.”

“He hates it when you call him ‘it.’” Talia reached out to Frank’s storm, and it snaked around her arm. “You were saying?”

“Okay, that’s new.” Karen’s eyes were about to pop out of her head. The storm was totally acting like that damn Symbiote. “What is it with you and black blobs of semi-sentience?”

The storm swirled around Talia, then jumped to Karen and just blanketed her.

“I have mine, and apparently, you have yours now.” Talia’s smile was devilish. “What I was going to say was that it reminds me of Godzilla’s power pocket. I can feel it brimming with power.”

Karen couldn’t help but pet it. “I’ve _embraced_ it when I needed strength.”

“And it juiced you up. If nothing else it’s connecting with you on a primal level. Can’t get more basic in human emotions than rage.”

“You said he was human. Run-of-the-mill people don’t have their personal conduits of rage power.”

“Extraordinary human. For all we know, Frank Castle comes from a long line of sorcerers. Only the AO can say for sure. It likes you, whatever it is so use—” Talia bit her lip.

“Talia?”

“I think that’s what I tapped into when I kissed him. No wonder I was dizzy. I was drinking straight out of the tap.”

The storm swirled around Karen again, then jumped back to Frank. Karen turned and saw what Talia had been hiding.

“Talia.” Her name was drawn out into exaggerated syllables.

“What?” She turned and met Karen’s eyes. “Oh. Yeah. That. Wondered when you’d be able to see it.” The fissures were all over her skin. It was as if all her veins and arteries had popped out, except the lines were black. Just like her nuclear eyes.

Talia walked over to Bill her hand ghosting his cheek.

“Is it Agony’s doing?” Karen had never seen ruptures like Talia’s. Didn’t think they were possible on a living breathing person, but that was before Agony and Illusion and that damn lizard.

“No,” Talia’s hand traced Bill jawline, “she didn’t help, but it’s not her.”

“How long?”

Talia’s hand dug into Bill’s hair. “Six months ago. It started in Kandahar.”

Karen looked at Billy. “Is he making it better or worse?”

Talia’s shoulders drooped and when she turned to Karen, those amazing green eyes of hers were brimming with stoic acceptance. With a small crooked smile, she shrugged. Then the world snapped back into normal time. Frank was watching them intently while eating a breakfast bowl. Bill was absently rubbing his hair, a bag of pancakes in his lap.

“We are not done.” Karen’s voice was tight with fear and tinged with anger that Talia would keep something so serious a secret.

“Later. When this is over.” Talia turned to Bill. “What’s up, pretty boy?”

Bill’s eyes narrowed. “You get him something funny,” he points to Frank’s red tee with a comic-like panel, “and you got me this monstrosity?” He lifted what had to be the loudest, wildest space cat shooting laser explosion shirt ever created.

“Maybe I like him better.” How Talia kept a straight-face was a mystery only the universe had the answer for.

_Can I kiss Frank again?_

_NO!_

_Soulmates!_

“You’re not kissing him again,” Bill said, never taking his eyes of Talia.

“So these lips are only for kissing you, now?” She reached into the pancake bag, frowning when it was already empty. It crumpled in her hands. “Way overconfident, there, hoss.”

“You sure about that?” Bill leaned forward, dipping his pancakes towards Talia.

Talia glanced at the bag, then back at Billy, before grabbing the offered treat. “Come on, pretty boy, let’s go to bed.” She got up and headed for the door.

“Finally.” Billy was hot on her heels.

Karen watched them go, her lips twisting down even as she chewed on them.

“Something wrong?”

Hell, yeah. But she couldn't say that, doubt he’d understand the gravity of the situation. Talia was dying. Slowly, from the inside out, her power was chewing her up, and there was nothing Karen could do about it. Yet. Nothing she could do about it, _yet_ , because there was no way she’d let her friend go without a fight.

Karen shrugged.

“Come on, don’t do that.” Frank’s eyes were sharp and direct. Piercing.

 _Unnerving, the way he could look into a person_ _’s soul._

“Don’t blow me off like that.” He looked at the door. “You worried she gonna get hurt? By Bill?”

Of course, he’d think that. Frank was an up and up type of guy. Saw things in black and white. His life probably had been that straight forward before the Blacksmith and all the baggage that came with him. Karen envied him for that.

“She knows he’s a player, right?”

Karen tried to smother the amused huff with her hand, but it was hard to hide the genuine smile. “Talia will eat him alive.”

“That right?” Frank’s smile was soft and amused. “Bill probably deserves it with all the shit he’s pulled.”

Karen had the time to actually read Frank’s shirt, _Don_ _’t tell me what to do…unless we’re in bed._ This time there was no hiding the laughter that bubbled out.

Frank looked down on at the shirt, lips curling with sheepish self-deprecating chagrin. “Sure she ain’t clairvoyant?”

Karen certainly hoped not. There was an air of acceptance and inevitability around Talia as if she’d made peace with whatever was coming, like death.

 

 


	10. The Palace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, plot happens and I've added a couple of chapters. What can I say other than the end is near. Promise. Thanks for sticking with this ride.

 

Steam billowed out as Karen came out of the bathroom, all flushed and warm, from the hot shower. Those damn tight pants of her hugged every curve, so did the tight crew shirt. Frank shouldn’t be looking, but he was.

He bit off a curse while trying to shift on the queen size bed.

“That bad?”

Those blue-blue eyes of hers were drilling into his soul, and he didn’t mind it one bit. Long, delicate fingers were combing through wet hair. It was darker, still heavy with water, but it just made it look like panned gold.

“Nah.” Frank tested the muscles a bit. Painful, but not dilapidating. He could still fight if it came down to that, and something told him it would. “Just stiff.”

“Want me to check the wounds?”

Frank shook his head. “Had Bill check what I couldn’t see when you two were doing whatever you were doing.”

It had been just a bit unnerving seeing Karen and Talia just sitting across from each other in the bed, not moving, not talking, just frozen. Bill had knocked on the door as Frank was getting out of the shower, but the women were oblivious to the world around them. Part of him worried about their vulnerability when they did that, the other part was glad they felt safe enough to do it.

“Want to talk about it?” His chin dipped, encouraging and automatically accepting whatever got thrown at him. Something was clearly bothering her, and it’s not like he’d understand it, probably, but he was willing to listen.

Karen shook her head. “We will. But not tonight.” She looked at the window, even with the curtains drawn, there was an unmistakable light of a new day. “Today.”

She gave him a sad little smile, and all he wanted to do was comfort her, tell her it would be all right whatever it was. Wanted to make things better. _Needed to._ Karen flipped off the light, climbing into the other queen bed. And he missed that opportunity.

Frank closed his eyes, just as well things were complicated enough as it was, and drifted off into sleep.

“NO! You don’t get to step in front of a bullet. Any bullet, especially one meant for me.”

Or not. The thing with off the beaten path, small motels, was thin walls were thin.

“Are you trying to tell me what to do? I stepped in front of bullets that got stopped.”

“Oh yeah? What are those bruises on your chest?”

“Body armor doing its job!”

The voices got slightly more muffled as Talia and Bill moved around their room. But not enough.

“Think they're going to go on like this for a while?”

Karen sighed. “When she gets going, she’s an unstoppable force.”

And Bill was just not on his usual game. Talia was doing a number on him. Under normal circumstances, Frank would just sit back and enjoy the show. It was a helluva show, too. But these were not normal circumstances. “And he’s the immovable object she’s got him so riled up.”

“Did you just throw a pancake at my head?”

Karen smothered the giggle. Or tried to, anyway.

“Want more?”

There was stomping that sounded like a herd of elephants charging, a loud oomph of a body landing on the floor, grumbling as said body got up, _stomp stomp,_ and finally a loud _thud_ as something crashed onto the carpet.

“Was that-?”

“The lamp, yeah.”

They both looked at the lamp sitting between them. It was inexpensive and ordinary, but with a heavy looking base that could be used as a lethal weapon in the right hands.

There was a solid, heavy _thump_ against the wall. Then a startling, unexpected and blank silence. The air, even in Frank’s and Karen’s room, was heavy with anticipation and promise and something undecipherable.

“Did they kill each other?” Frank had known Bill for almost a decade. There is no way he’d hurt a woman, not that way, regardless of how angry he was or how crazy she drove him. He just wouldn’t.

Karen popped up, half-on, half-off the bed. One leg tangled in the sheets, one foot on the floor, ready to spring into action. “Should I go find out?”

Despite the faint light, he could see his thoughts mirrored in her eyes, and she bit hard on her bottom lip. Frank hadn’t meant for her to get up and physically check on their dynamic duo. He’d just expected her to do that mind thing she does. Before he could say anything. The voices started again, in a wholly different and undeniable tone.

“Don’t you dare try to heal me. Or Frank.”

“Shut up, Bill.”

There was an unmistakable slam of a headboard against the wall. Then another. And goddamn these walls were paper thin, and the mattresses were so damn rickety and _loud_. And Frank’s thoughts strayed right to Karen. Then he remembered what she could do.

 _I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith_ _…_

_So help me God._

_Oorah!_

He chanced a peek at Karen. That smile was a beacon of light brightening the shadows of the room. She was all heart and sunshine. Frank grimaced as stiff muscles pushed him upright to a sitting position on the bed.

“Wanna take a walk? Grab some coffee?”

There was no way they were going to get any sleep any time soon. Bill and Talia weren’t being rambunctious necessarily it was just obvious what they were up to. The faint light of the early morning danced with shadows across her face, and Frank feasted on the flush that blossomed on her cheeks, rushing to her neck.

There she went again, worrying that bottom lip like it was the only thing keeping her mouth from saying something it shouldn’t. Ungloved hands - he was glad she wasn’t wearing those damn things - tapped light against her hip. It was like the weight of the universe had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked so earnest, so hopeful and curious. He could see a thousand thoughts running across her face. Couldn’t hide anything in those vivid baby blues.

Thoughts were running through his head as well, and all were staring Karen in various states of undress.

“Want to try something, sunshine?” Just came out of his mouth before he could actually process the thought. The flinch pulled at sore muscles, and he fucking deserved that. Smooth Castle, real smooth. Needed to come up with an apology, a real good one mighty quick.

“Can we try the pocket universe, again?” Her voice was low and unsure.

Frank wasn’t sure who she was trying to dissuade, him or herself. Admittedly, not what he would have preferred, but his body probably couldn’t cash the checks his libido was writing anyway. And if that damn eerie mental hallucination could shut down the noise from Bill and Talia - because he’d bet cold hard cash she was going to be as loud as Bill - then so be it.

The fact she wanted to experiment with touch was not lost on him, either. There was no fear on his end, he’d touched her the minute she collapsed. Carried her unconscious body and held her motionless hand as fear for her life rolled over him with the force of a tidal wave.

He grabbed the sheets and turning them over and scooting to make room. “C’mere.”

Karen hesitated for a brief second, then got up, sliding in next to him. The wave of feminine heat hit Frank like a heart attack. And maybe his body wasn’t as beat up as he thought.

“So how do we do this.” He’s close enough to kiss her, not quite in the same breathing space, but close and staring at her lips, he wanted to. So badly he could almost taste it. The thought cemented itself in his mind, come hell or high water he’s gonna kiss this woman.

Nimble fingers feather-touched Frank’s stubbled cheek in a tentative caress. He didn't lean into her touch. Much.

A pink tongue darted out, wetting that luscious lip. “I think it’s all on me, captain.” She leaned in, and he did the same with lips brushing against a soft cheek.

The world stood still. There’s a sharp flash, and a hard snap and Frank found himself not where he had expected. Small waves of crystal clear water lapped over bare toes, and the bite of the rocky shore dug into the bottoms of his feet. It was an ingrained habit to catalog the surrounding area, every tree, rock, and the small pier mere steps away. His mind wasn’t quite grasping what it was seeing. He’d expected what happened at the park. Just another out of body experience. Not a full-blown explosion of senses that felt so real.

Crisp water sloshed against his ankles, splashing the rolled up khakis. That must be her doing. He’d never wear khakis and a white button down. He looked like some trendy fashion-plate, the only thing missing was a full-blown man-bun.

 Frank sensed her presence, turning before the soft touch landed on his shoulder. Her hair is down, golden strands sliding between his rough fingers before he even realized what he was doing. Those blue-blue eyes of hers are wide and bright, soft, pale skin in contrast to the dark orange sundress.

_Jesus. Fuck. She was gorgeous._

“Who are you?”

He doesn’t miss the soft hand lingering on his forearm. “I’m just a grunt from Hell’s Kitchen, Karen.”

Her head tilted, moving side to side. “You are so much more than that.”

Frank released her hair, and grabbed her hand, holding on, thumb stroking delicate knuckles. Half expecting her to pull away, but she never did.

“Is this you?” His head dipped down looking at his clothes. “I look like a damn hipster.”

The was a bubble of laughter. “You’re lucky you have clothes on.” Her eyes became huge blue-blue stars shining so bright Frank had to blink. Hands flew to her face, covering her mouth.

Too late for that, sunshine.

“Are you trying to get my clothes off, ma’am?”

“Yes. No!” Her eyes squeezed shut. “God. Karen” gets muttered in an exasperated whisper.

“Hey. Sunshine.” He ducked his head. “You get any redder, and you’re gonna need some sunscreen.” She was goddamn adorable. “How about something a little more me?” He pointed at the clothes.

She looked up, still beet red, and his clothes morphed into something more to his liking. Dark green Henley, black jeans and boots.

“Perfect. Now I don’t feel like I need to learn poetry or something.”

Karen bit her lip. “Frank. I didn’t do that.” She tugged at his shirt. “I was just thinking the same clothes but in black.” Her head tilted. “I think you did it.”

Frank looks down at the new clothes. It’s just his regular stuff. Nothing special about it. Basically, the same thing he’d worn when they’d met.

“Not buying it, Page.” He looked up, the warmth of the sun hitting his cheeks. It was a damn beautiful day at the lake. “What is this place? Another pocket dimension?”

“I wasn’t even thinking about this. Not sure how we ended up here.” She took a step away from him. “It’s a mind palace.” She said it like it explained everything. It didn’t, and it must have shown in his face.

“It’s a mental construct-”

“Yeah, I figured that one out on my own.”

She nodded. “Right. Okay, it’s designed to help with memorization.” She pointed to some blue trees - yes, leaves and trunk, not flowers - across the lake. “That’s SHIELDs training manual. What we had to learn and memorize at the academy. If I walked over there, I’d be able to tell you all the rules and regulations that pertain to daily field operations.

“Over there,” she pointed to a patch of blooming black roses, “are all the dos and don’ts about vampires—”

“You really do handle those things, don’t you?” He was torn between being super impressed and downright horrified.

Karen flattened a non-existent crease on her dress. “Easier than dealing with demon hordes from another dimension or gremlins having a kegger in a nuclear plant.”

Yeah. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know about those and never again wanted the hear kegger and nuclear plant in the same sentence. Ever. There was a flash of orange and green and white amongst the trees.

“Is that a…” He pointed to a patch of colorful shrubbery.

“An Oompa Loompa,” she covered her eyes, “yeah, please don’t ask.” Her hand dropped to her mouth, with a crooked smile. “Want to sit down?”

Before he could answer, they were sitting on the edge of the wood pier, Karen’s barefoot dipping into the water. It was a bit disorienting, but it also felt right. Or maybe that was because he was with her.

“Did you always know how to do this or someone teach you?”

Karen fiddled with the folds of her dress. “Do you want the short story or the long version?”

He wanted to spend time with her without having someone try to kill them or seeing her fight for life.

“How much time we got?”

Karen’s head tilted to the side with eyes closed. When she opened them, there was that enchanting smile again. “We have time. We’re both asleep right now.”

Frank scratched the back of his head. “We’re right here. Awake.”

“Different parts of the mind, we can be here awake and another part there asleep.”

Yeah. He understood the words but didn’t have a clue what it meant. Take her word for it, though.

“Is this real?” Sure as hell felt like it. He could taste that lazy summer air. Feel the softness of her skin as he traced a flat silver, pea-sized scar on the knuckle of her thumb. Shit like this just wasn’t possible in his jarhead world. “Or am I dreaming?”

Karen’s head dipped, looking at him through her lashes. “You’d dream about me, Captain Castle?”

“Yeah.” He’s going to memorize every freckle on her face. “Yeah, I would,” he looked down at their entwined hands, “and you wouldn't be afraid of touching in those dreams.”

She nodded like she understood and maybe did. “I’m not sure how we ended up here.” She admitted. “It wasn’t planned, but…The mind is a gateway of time and space and,” she looked at their entwined hands, giving it a squeeze, “senses. You just have to learn to navigate it. I just,” a soft huff escaped her lips, “just never done it with someone—” She cleared her throat. “How do I prove this isn’t a dream?”

With someone? What? He wanted her to finish that thought in the hopes it would end with something he wanted to hear. Maybe an explanation of why they were so tethered to one another.

“Tell me something I couldn’t possibly imagine.”

Karen bit her lip, face turned upward, thinking for a minute. “My mother is Inhuman, empathic. Heals through baking.” The corners of her mouth crinkled up. “It’s how she met my father. In the same bakery they now run together. They got married, and I showed up about a year later. The way Mom tells it, I was a normal baby, no fuss no muss. Until I was about two and she introduced me to chocolate.” She laughed, bright and cheery. “Apparently these lips were meant for eating chocolate. One day, she had this overpowering urge for chocolate, but not to eat it, just to take it home, immediately.”

“That was you.”

Karen nodded. “After that, it was like learning a new skill. Baby steps. My brother came along a couple of years later, he’s a technopath—”

“A what?”

“Someone with an affinity for technology, in Kevin’s case, computers. Like Micro.”

Why was he not surprised? That whole family had something a little extra to them, and now it made sense. “That’s why Lieberman could process all that information so quick.”

“Yeah.” She paused, and he could see the uncertainty in her body language, but she took a deep breath and continued. “Things were fine until I got to be thirteen. During that year, everything started to become overwhelming.” A shadow flashed across her face. “ Too much sensory information bombarding me non-stop. I was having constant debilitating migraines, couldn’t even get out of bed some days. And nightmares - night terrors, actually, every night without fail. I’d wake up screaming and crying and inconsolable.

“My parents took me to every doctor and specialist they could find. The Inhuman kind wanted to isolate me, the human ones suggested institutionalization and heavy medication or a limited chemical lobotomy.”

The chuckle was humorless, full of bitter resentment. “My parents weren’t about to do either, but they didn't know who else to turn to because by that point I was becoming catatonic.

“Then one day, there was a knock at the door, and it was the Ancient One. Said she’d heard my cries for help from the other side of the world, so she came.”

Karen wiped the stray tear racing down her cheek, blinking fast, a wet, wistful smile on her lips.

“She stayed with us for about a month, taught me how to silence the chaos, control the sensory information, siphon energy, trained me until the mental discipline was second nature. Every year after that, during the summers, I’d go to Kamar-Taj and continue to learn to master my mind.”

Frank leaned forward, thumb wiping at the wet trails on her face. “I’m glad she helped.” He nodded. “Kamar-Taj, eh? That’s definitely something I wouldn’t think up. But the names you guys come up with…” He chuckled, squeezing her hand comfortingly. “Ancient One. Agony.” A soft huff escaped his lips.

There was more to it, he could tell. She’d given him the sanitized version. He’d seen that steel from the first moment he’d set eyes on her, just never realized it had been built on the pain and terror of a child. Her dedication to helping and protecting others made perfect sense.

“What about you?”

He was dumbstruck by her smile. Jesus. She was beautiful. But it was more than physical beauty which she had aplenty, here relaxed and comfortable, her spirit shined. He wasn’t one for believing in that aura bullshit, but he’d be damned if she wasn't simply radiant. A light in the darkness, a siren in a stormy sea calling to him and he went, without any sense of self-preservation, like a moth to a flame because there was no other place he’d rather be.

Frank grinned. “You gonna dream about me, sunshine?”

“I just might, captain.” Her cheeks pinked and all he wanted to do was taste that heat.

Frank never liked talking about himself, the past was the past, and there was nothing that could change it. No point in dwelling on it. He’d rather have other people talk. Hell, just wanted _her_ to talk and he’d gladly listen. But the story of her as a child in desperate need of help had struck a nerve with him. That she was willing to share that vulnerability was both bewildering and thrilling, and he’d forever count himself lucky for the privilege of that confidence, of that trust.

“Hell’s Kitchen, born and bred. My parents they, ah, they were older when they had me. Called me their happy accident.” He looked across the lake. “I was a little shit. Getting into trouble from the minute I could walk, but they, you see, even though they couldn’t control me, they loved me. Taught me about right and wrong. Put up with my teenage boy bullshit.” He laughed. Then the smile collapsed onto itself. “They were coming home from a friend’s house, got t-boned by some drunk asshole who shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. Got pushed into oncoming traffic.” He swallowed. “Cops said it was quick. That they didn’t suffer, but I knew that was the crap they say to the families. My parents, they saw death, knew it was coming and couldn’t do anything about it.

“I was already eighteen, so I finished the school year and joined up right after graduation. Been serving ever since.”

_…endless, echoing loneliness._

“You’ve been alone? All this time?

His brow furrowed. “I’m not alone, Karen. The Marines are the family I chose, or they chose me. They put me through college. Made me an officer after that. They are my brothers and sisters. And then there was Bill and Curtis. They _are_ my brothers _._ I’d do anything for them. _”_  

And then, you walked into my life. He was still holding her hand, or maybe she was holding his, it didn’t matter.

“This whole mess started in Kandahar.” He looked at Karen. It wasn’t all bad, he’d do it all over again just to meet her.

“When were you in Kandahar?”

He had to stop and think. “Almost a week ago. Jesus, it feels like a lifetime ago. It wasn’t that bad, you know, the desert. Simple. Knew who the enemy was and killed them.” Schoonover's face flashed in his head. “That’s what we thought at the time anyhow. It wasn’t until six months ago that everything went to shit.”

 

It was hard to breathe at the mention of Kandahar. Her whole body stiffened, every muscle rigid with tension. And then…

“Wh-What happened,” she tried to swallow, but it didn’t take the first time, “six months ago?”

Frank’s head snapped towards her. “Karen?”

“What happened, Frank?” Her hand was clutching his so tight her knuckles were starting to burn.

Sudden flashes of light, the roar explosions, bullets flying, and images of friends bleeding out bombarded her mind.

 _I_ _’m gonna get you home._

“We landed smack-dab in the middle of a trap.” That tone was so carefully modulated in an attempt to suppress the emotion, Karen’s heart ached. “Bill and I warned Schoonover, but Rawlins had the orders and was in charge. Got boxed in with no way to get to the landing zone. The bastards were just waiting for us to try. It would've been like shooting fish in a barrel. Except the fish don’t know they’re about to die. Men do.”

His voice tightened into a low, raspy half-whisper. “Didn’t have much choice, so ah, I went in,” he wouldn’t look at her, maybe couldn’t, “one man in shadows. They didn’t know I was there until I opened up on them. Had to use the knife a couple of times. I just knew where they were. Saw them. Killed all of them.”

A very vivid image of hot blood dripping off his face, wiping his hand over it, but it was covered in gooey soot. Smelling the burn of smoke, the rank of sweat and stench of death. It clung to him.

“Didn’t know until it was all over that Bill was about ten feet behind me the whole time, double-tapping the assholes. Makes sense how some of them dropped so fast.”

Jesus. On a pogo stick.

“There was a man,” Karen took a deep breath, “one of them that came at you, only had half of his nose and a scar going across his face, he had a big knife—”

“Machete…” His brows squished together. “Yeah. There was. Used him as a shield.” His gaze was heavy and piercing.

 _Unnerving, the way he could look into a person_ _’s soul._

“Did I- Did you see that? From my head?”

Her mind was scrambling and screaming, and it felt like the universe was crashing down on top of her.

“Karen. Don’t do that. Don’t shut me out.” He squeezed her hand.

She looked down at their entwined hands, hadn’t realized they were still wrapped around each other like a lifeline.

“I was in Kandahar six-months ago.”

There was a quiver in her voice as the weight of reality pressed down on her with infinite possibilities. The answer was so close she could taste it, almost touch it. So close. Fleeting, yet obvious.

“You were?”

She nodded. “Inter-dimensional portal. One of the hordes of demons we keep talking about.”

Frank’s mouth dropped open. A replay of the firefight slammed into her, then beating the shit out Rawlins. Of mottled monsters about to rip him into two.

“I, uh, had a dream.” He wiped and unsteady hand over his face. “Nightmare. After we came back. After Rawlins. Of monsters attacking. They had this—”

“Marbled, yellow skin, with knees the bent the wrong way.”

Recognition flashed through his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah. That was you?”

Karen could only nod. Maybe it was like the Ancient One said, everything interconnected. Not predestined. Just connected. Sometimes the connections spring out of nowhere, some fade and others are woven so tightly that they become a reality across time and space.

“I fell asleep on the Quinjet, don’t even remember doing it. Just around the time we got close to Kandahar, I was already deep into a nightmare of my own.

“Enemies coming out of every dark corner. Their murderous intent infecting everything around me, thoughts so ugly they screamed so loud that I knew where they were. Saw them and killed them.”

“So we,” he cleared his throat, swallowed, “what? Connected somehow? That happen often?”

Well, that was a loaded question in so many ways. It was blindingly clear now that they had created or the universe forged a connection between them six months ago. She had a sinking feeling that if whatever bond that was formed hadn’t snapped into place at just the right time, he might not have come out of that mission alive or at least, not the same person. And perhaps, the same could be said about her.

“Most Psyonics, Psy, have complicated relationships. Hard to be with someone who can read your mind, every thought or intention. Relationships are short-lived at best, non-existent at worst.”

To think she’d been so worried about the possibility of starting anything with Frank when it turned out they’d already had something before they'd even met.

“We tend to be a close-knit group because there are so few of us. We don’t make even one percent of the Inhuman population.”

In reality, it was probably even less and getting smaller because so few of them were having children to pass on the genetic traits.

“There are stories about Psy connecting to other people, bonding with them.”

Frank’s brow knitted, eyes slanting down. “You mean like…Soulmates?” He blinked hard and fast, face twisting in confusion. “I have no idea where that came from.”

“That's an oversimplification.” Karen tried to remember exactly how that conversation from so long ago had played out. “The Ancient One told me that soulmates are made, not born. That every day those bonds are made with people who care about each other, romantic or not. Had from the beginning of time.” Karen licked her lip and smiled. “Talia is my soulmate. My life was good. I had friends I liked, a job I loved and then I met her, and we just clicked from the beginning. Two parts of a whole.”

Karen bit her lip. “Then I met you.”

Those expressive eyes of his were so transparent at this moment, she didn’t have to read his thoughts to see what was going on in his mind. He couldn’t hide from her even if he wanted to. The same panic and uncertainty were flashing across in his eyes.

“And we clicked.”

And that truth was terrifying. So many things could go wrong. She’d seen so many Psy suffer through heartbreak after heartbreak until there was nothing left to break. She’d spent her whole adult life avoiding those strong romantic ties. It was pointless to lie and say that this connection with Frank Castle was the same _click_ she’d had with Talia. It hadn’t been from the very beginning. But she wasn’t ready.

 _No one is ever ready, Karen. Even if you know what_ _’s coming, you’re never prepared with how it feels when it arrives._

“Well, in stressful situations we were bound to—”

“Don’t do that. We clicked. Before we even met, we clicked.” He squeezed her hand tight, like a lifeline. “From the moment I saw you chewing out that idiot from Homeland…”

She could feel his need to pace, to move around and release some of the energy that was burning and stinging and throbbing under his skin.

“What I want to know is, how? Why?” His finger tapped rhythmically on his knee. “You don’t know the things I’ve done, Karen.”

The thing was, she did know.

Karen tugged at his hand but didn’t let go. “Don’t do that. Don’t put me on a pedestal. I killed Illusion with a touch. Liquefied the brains of those snipers. My hands aren’t clean.”

“You’re saving the universe from demons of another dimension. I’m just a killer with orders.”

She couldn’t bear to have him doubt he deserved something other than darkness and death. She was going to have to explain it to him and wasn’t sure what the right words were.

“You have a storm around you. It’s built of anger and rage, darkness and death.”

She couldn’t see it right now, but it was there, under the surface, ready to rise when called.

“It scares you, doesn’t it?”

He wasn’t surprised, knew it was there, even if he couldn’t see it. Didn’t harness the power of it in the same way she could. It had been a constant shadow. There was so much pain in his eyes, so much sorrow, her heart broke for him all over again.

“Yeah.” He nodded and looked away. “It does.”

 _It doesn_ _’t change how I feel about you._

_It should._

_It doesn_ _’t._

“The first time I felt it,” she took a deep breath, “it was in the throes of Agony’s torture. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt it in my bones, Frank.”

She reached out and cupped his face, angling it until he looked at her.

“I heard you. You broke through the pain. You.”

The friction of the short bristled cheek tingled against the pads of her fingers, and everything started making sense.

“What did Illusion show you?”

He looked away, letting go of her hand, but she held on tight with both of hers. Frank’s eyes dropped to their entangled hands. His jaw clenched and relaxed, the tendons of his neck standing out in thick cords.

“You.” Was a half-whisper. “He slit your throat.” A strangled tone. “You-You died in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything.” A choked confession.

 _You can_ _’t tame the darkness, you have to surrender to its wildness and use its power as your own._

She brought his hand to her face, holding it there. “That was the first time I saw that storm when you were lost in Illusion’s hallucination.” Karen kissed the rough, calloused palm. “I won’t lie. Yes, I was scared when it crashed into me like a furious monster, but it didn’t hurt me because it was yours. You. And it was power that protected and fueled. 

“I used it to find you when you were lost in that nightmare. I’m not afraid of it.”

Her hand slid behind his neck, and she pulled him closer until their foreheads touched.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Maybe you should be,” he said in a harsh whisper.

“I’m not.”

She wrapped her arms around him and held on. With two hands. He hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap, and burying his face against the hollow of her neck.

_And never let go._

 

 

They stayed like that, time was irrelevant. The universe could wait. He pulled away first, hand cupping her cheek, looking at her like he was trying to memorize every line and freckle. Something exploded. The universe, her heart, it didn’t matter. Karen leaned forward and kissed him. And saw stars the minute their lips touched. She hesitated for the briefest second, then her tongue brushed over the fullness of his lips. Frank opened up to her, deepening the kiss. His teeth scraped across her lower lip and nipped its way back, swallowing all those noises that would embarrass her later.

They pulled back, catching their breaths, resting foreheads against each other. “Jesus, Page. Does this even count?”

A punch-drunk, giddiness rolled through her. “It better.” Because _Wow!_ That was a doozy.

Frank took a deep breath. “We’re not doing this here.”

“No?” It hadn’t meant to sound so needy.

“Not in a mind palace, or in some rinky-dink inn on the side of a road. Not while running. Not like that.”

She understood. This whole thing between them was just too huge to be taken lightly or carelessly. Karen rested her head against his shoulder.

“OK. Don’t let this go to your head but, _wow_.”

His chuckle rumbled deep within his chest. “Right back atcha.”

The remained like that, she wrapped in his arms and feeling utterly safe. But something niggled in the back of her mind. A wispy thought trying to materialize.

“What happened after?”

“After what?”

“After that mission, after the demons.”

He hesitated. “Things felt sharp and off. Couldn’t put my finger on it. There were other missions, but there was less of Rawlins. Didn’t see him for a month afterward. Thought we were rid of him, but no such luck.

“Saw him again when a bunch of assholes from Congress, who never served a day in their lives, were there patting themselves on the back for visiting the troops, but were only interested in a damn photo-op, using soldiers as props. Rawlins was there schmoozing it up to them.”

That persistent annoyance became a hard tug. “You remember who they were?”

“Can’t tell one of those assholes from the other. Hell, one of them got lost, or so he said. Bill and I thought he was putting his nose where it didn’t belong. Rawlins came through not two minutes later, surprised to see us. Scumbag asked us if we didn’t have anything better to do than _loiter_ around.”

“Were they talking to each other?”

“The Washington suit and Rawlins? Not that we saw. Why?”

“Did they come from the same direction?” It was so close she could almost put it together. “If Rawlins was trying to get an in with the Congressmen, don’t see him passing the opportunity to charm one in private.”

“Always thought he was an ambitious prick, but that idiot from the Bronx couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag with a compass much less be of interest to Rawlins.”

Karen straightened his embrace. “Ori? The Senator from New York. That’s who you saw?”

“Yeah, I think that’s his name, why?”

Finally. It became clear and so plainly evident it hurt that she hadn’t thought of the possible connection before.

“Ori chairs the Intelligence Committee, he’s been trying to oust Director Fury from the minute he got elected. Wants SHIELD to be under the direct oversight of that committee and its chair. Not answer to the World Council.”

Frank stiffened.

“That’s why Rawlins is after you and Bill. Ori’s committee has been stonewalling Fury and any attempt to investigate the Blacksmith. You can connect Ori to the Blacksmith.”

Frank jumped right to the endgame like the strategist he was. “Ori keeps Fury off of Rawlins, who uses all that money to give Ori SHIELD. He’d have control of an army that could overthrow any government.”

That was it. But how did they prove it?

 

 

Karen woke up in stages. She was on her side, a heavy arm around her waist. Senator Ori was covering for Rawlins, and his price was control of SHIELD. It is warm and comfortable, and she had no desire to move. No wonder Rawlins knew everything about them. Nope, not moving. They were probably going to try to assassinate Fury. Again. Good luck with that. Frank was radiating masculine heat, and that perfect kiss popped into her head. They were so doing that for real sooner rather than later. She didn’t want to wake him, though. A flash of gunfire and death slammed into her.

Frank jerked awake, breathing hard and gripping her side. It was already dark outside. Karen rolled over.

“You okay?” She stroked his cheek.

“Yeah. Didn’t mean to wake you. Sorry.”

“I was awake.” She tugged at his shirt. “Thinking about waking you.”

The lines of distress flattened, and Frank’s lip hitched up. “That wasn’t a dream was it?”

Karen ran her hand up his chest and hooked it behind his neck. “Not a dream.” She tugged him closer.

“Good.” He leaned forward willingly, a hairs breath away from Karen’s lips.

“Goddammit, Talia!”

Frank bit off a curse. “Will those two ever stop?” His breath was warm against her cheek.

“Not unless they kill each other first.” Karen sighed. _Hate it back._ Works for me.

“Someday, sunshine, we won’t get interrupted.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Someday. The story of her life. Karen rolled over and flipped on the light.

Frank scooted out of bed and took three steps before freezing. His hand ran down his side to his leg, before lifting up his shirt. “I know why Bill's angry.”

He turned so Karen could see his injured side. Or what should've been his injured side. Instead of a deep purple bruise, the skin was unmarred. There’s no mark on his hip either. Karen can now see his face had no swelling or discoloration and no split lip.

“She healed both of us.” His voice was thick with concern.

Karen reached up to her cheek, stroking the area that had stung so fiercely in the shower. It was pain-free. She lifted her shirt and the skin on her side, the one that body armor had stopped the projectiles, was unblemished.

“She healed all of us.”

The door next door slammed, Frank’s eyes snapped to Karen’s then he did a quick grab of his boots and went to find Billy. Karen didn’t bother with shoes and just went next door, finding the door wide open and Talia on the bed hands covering her face.

Karen sat down next to her, hand rubbing Talia’s back.

“I don’t know why he’s so angry about it. I didn’t even know I was doing it.”

That was new. Karen’s hand froze for a split second.

“He’s worried about you.” Even a blind man could see that. “And has reason to be. So am I.”

Talia straightened. “Kare. Look at me.” Talia waited. Karen studied her friend but didn’t see anything wrong.

“Do I look like a bucket of blood got dropped on me?”

_Oh._

“There was _no_ bleeding.” Talia got up and started pacing. “Fixing Bill alone should have had me running like a stream.” She lifted her shirt. “No bruises. I fixed me, too.”

Karen traced her lip with a blunt fingernail. “And Frank.”

Talia stopped. “What?”

“Frank got up,” no need to mention they’d shared the bed, not yet anyway, “no bruises and he shouldn’t have been able to move because the levitator dropped him hard. Bruised if not cracked ribs. And the shrapnel wounds on the leg were healed. Completely. No sign of any injury.”

Karen lifted the crew shirt. “And me, not as bad as the three of you, but I got hit with some of that silver goo, too. No bruises.”

Talia’s eyes were wide and slightly dazed. “I shouldn't be able to do that, Kare. Certainly shouldn’t be conscious after doing it.”

“I can’t see the fissures.”

Talia shrugged. “Because you don’t have that storm juicing you up. They are still there.”

“And does Billy make it better or worse?”

Talia wouldn’t look at Karen. “Both.” Came out as a whispered confession.

 

 

 


	11. Gunner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two chapters are a bit different and I feel I have to explain why. It went like this...
> 
> Writer: Okay, we’re in the finale and-  
> Billy: Why does Frank get all the good stuff? He got Agony and I got a bark that no one saw. Come on, I’m the pretty one. Give me a POV moment. You know you want to, besides, you liked me way before you liked him.  
> Writer: Ben, don’t bring other fandoms into this.  
> Billy: Everything is fair in love and fan fiction.  
> Writer: I gave you the sex scene.  
> Billy: Through his missionary vanilla POV.  
> Frank: Hey!  
> Writer: (long-suffering sigh) Okay, I’ll do it.  
> Talia: Woah! Anything he can do I can do better. I have a way more developed back story anyway. He wouldn't even be here if he wasn’t pretty. You can’t leave me out in the cold like that.  
> Writer: (whine) But, but there are not enough villains. I have no idea—  
> Talia: You can bring in (spoiler!).  
> Writer: ooh.  
> Talia: They can’t be expecting that.  
> Writer: You're such a bad influence.  
> Talia: I know, right!  
> Rawlins: (Cough cough) Excuse me, but do you really think that I’m that one dimensional?  
> Writer: You want a villain monologue, don’t you?  
> Rawlins: Monologue (shrugs) conversation to showcase my greatness.  
> \- Hiss hiss boo (from the peanut gallery)  
> Writer: Fine! But it’s gonna add at least one more chapter!  
> \- Oh noes! (from the peanut gallery)  
> Write: Just shut it, it’s Gunner’s turn and I like him best because he’s not complaining!  
> Gunner: You kinda made me a badass ma’am and (spoiler!).  
> \- Writer looks at a smiling Frank and Karen.  
> Writer: What are you two looking at?!  
> Frank: Not a thing. (reaches for the popcorn on Karen’s lap and puts a handful in his mouth, chews, makes a face and swallows, then turns to Karen.)  
> Frank: Did you put sugar! into perfectly good popcorn?  
> Karen: (big smile) Yup!  
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> TLDR; Multiple POVs

 

By the time Frank and Bill returned from their ‘walk,’ Karen and Talia had packed up, checked out and were ready to go. It didn’t take a Psy to figure out the men were antsy to get going on the way to Kentucky and Karen wasn’t in the mood to point out the logic that it would be better to start the six-hour trip in the morning. They wouldn't have listened anyway. There were times where men and logic got along as well as oil and water.

She did manage to talk them into grabbing some food at a local diner that was surprisingly good and only a little bit greasy, but that good greasy that makes you want to lick the plate. Bill sat across from Talia. Not speaking, but when she wasn’t looking - and Talia wasn’t because she was in her own little space in a hell of what-ifs - Bill was staring and worrying. Karen wasn’t sure who she should comfort first, so she just sent peace and love - she was getting fond of Billy if only for the way he looked at Talia - in their direction. By dessert, because you can’t eat at a hole in a wall diner and _not_ try the pie with homemade whipped cream, Bill and Talia were a little better. At least they were looking at each other if not actually talking.

Unfortunately, that peace and love didn’t do much for Karen who had gone from being worried about her best friend to near terrified that one day, sooner rather than later, Talia was just not going to wake up from the power expenditure. Or that power brewing within would consume everything that was Crystalia Amaquelin.

Frank took over driving duties. He didn’t ask, just did it, but Karen didn’t even bat an eyelash. Not driving allowed her to put out feelers on Talia to see how bad the fissures really were and if she needed to dip into Frank’s storm to do it, not having to focus on not getting them killed in a car accident would make it all the better. It took Karen an hour to nudge Talia into sleep, she’d never tried that before and should have been surprised that it worked, but at this point, nothing was really all that surprising.

Five minutes after that, Billy was holding Talia’s hand. He was angry and worried and more than halfway in love and knew it which was really making the turmoil even worse. Karen focused on soothing some of that tumult. It helped a little, and she called that a win.

It was during the first hour that they had the first bout of flashing lights come up behind them as a state trooper peeled out of his speed trap to chase them. Frank looked in the rearview mirror and cursed. Ninety seconds after that, the lights flashed off, and the trooper moved on.

“Leo.” Frank chuckled. “Atta girl.”

There were more flashing lights, but all ended the same and Karen continued delving deep into Talia’s fissures.

_Stop seeking answers from others when you already know the truth._

_What truth?_

_The one that is right in front of you, Karen._

Karen startled awake, not even realizing she’d been asleep in the first place.

“You all right, sunshine?” Frank glanced over at her.

Karen rubbed some of the daze out of her eyes. “Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She looked in the back seat, and both Bill and Talia were asleep as well. He was still holding on to her hand.

“Didn’t mean for you to end up driving all alone,” she said, adjusting her body into a better position.

“Bill was awake until about fifteen minutes ago,” Frank said. “Want to tell me what has you so worried?” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “She’s hurt. Or hurting. Bill can tell.”

Karen nodded. “He might be part of the problem.”

Frank's eyes snapped to her face. “How?”

“After that mission, was Bill any different? Did he mention demons?”

Frank looked at the road ahead, then shook his head. “No on the demons. Different how?”

“Similar to how you felt? The skin tingling sensation? The sharp but off feeling?”

“We don’t braid each other’s hair, Karen. We didn’t talk about it. Still wouldn’t have if…” It wasn’t for what was happening. They were rudderless in an unfamiliar situation with only each other as anchors.

Yeah, Karen got that, but _Men!_ She wasn’t sure there was an explanation that would make sense especially if she wasn’t so confident she understood it herself.

“Talia accessed a considerable amount of power in the Kandahar battle.”

Thinking back, Talia had been an unstoppable force, and she hadn’t gone nuclear. It shouldn’t have been possible.

“She never went nuclear, but the power she used…” Karen closed her eyes. “I should have seen it then, but I was so wrapped up on my own sudden Reaper Skin problems that I didn’t pay attention to what was happening to her.”

“How bad is it?” Karen didn’t speak. “That bad, huh?” They were silent for a few minutes. “Could she have connected to Bill? Like…whatever…us?”

Karen had thought about that. It wasn’t impossible, but what was the likelihood of two such connections happening in the same area at the same time? What was the chance the Frank _and_ Bill had similar abilities to connect to Psy? The odds just seemed astronomical that it could happen so perfectly. The universe didn’t work that way. And there was _always_ a price.

“I don’t know,” Karen confessed. “He doesn’t have a storm like you. I can’t see in him what I see in you. I don’t know what their connection is if any.

“What I did see, is her power ripping her apart from the inside out.” Karen swallowed the strangled sob.

“And,” the lines in his face deepened in thought, “their volatility makes it worse.”

Karen nodded. “Except for last night when they were singularly focused. She’d wanted to heal earlier but couldn't. Then the energy had a conduit, and she healed all of us without even trying.”

“So the answer for them is to always have sex?” Frank’s lip twitched.

Karen smiled. “If only.”

Frank drove in silence for a couple of miles. “He’ll stay away from her if it helps.”

Karen looked into the back and their entwined hands. “I don’t think it would.”

 

_Are we going to talk about what Rawlins did?_

Karen startled and turned on her seat to look at Talia, now wide awake. They still had at least another ninety minutes before hitting Moorehead, but Frank was making record time. It helped that by the time they’d hit West Virginia, the word had gone out through the trooper grapevine that SHIELD was flying through the area and to just let them pass. It wasn’t worth the hassle. Thank you, Leo!

 _I_ _’m awake. Surprised I even slept._

Karen slid slowly back into her seat, slinking down a bit. She avoided Frank’s questioning look.

 _Kare?_ Oh boy. _You didn_ _’t!_

_I was worried! Wanted to make sure you were okay._

_You wanted to snoop._

Karen couldn’t deny that was exactly what she’d done. Not invade Talia’s privacy, just study the fractures, and they were weird on multiple levels. Some of which she couldn’t even explain, much less understand. Karen would have to consult the Ancient One.

_Since when have you been able to push?_

It wasn’t really pushing your will onto someone else. Talia manipulated the chemicals in the brain. Karen couldn’t do that, but she could make a suggestion which was _not_ the same as a compulsion.

_You were my guinea pig._

_Lovely._

_You mad?_

Talia sent a very suggestive picture of Karen between Frank and Bill. She hadn’t seen Frank without a shirt, so her details were off, and Karen did _not_ want to know whose body that was, though it was pretty impressive. But Karen had a sneaky suspicion that Billy’s was spot on and Talia would know. He didn’t have as many scars as Frank, but he had several and Karen could see the appeal from a purely scientific point of view.

_Talia!_

_How close was I on Frank?_

Karen wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer. _More scars. Otherwise, real close._

_Oh ho! Did we experience a shirtless Marine?_

_Helped him take off his shirt. That_ _’s ALL._

 _Wanted to do more, didn_ _’t you?_

Karen sighed. _He was hurt before you and your sex energy fixed all of us. Are you going to talk about that?_

Talia was silent for so long Karen was about to apologize.

 _It was more_ _…intimate than I was expecting. More than just a quick, meaningless fu-_

 _You_ _’re allowed to like him, Talia. You_ know _he likes you. A lot._

 _We_ _’ll talk about that and the healing, I promise. But we really need to talk about that metal scumbag and the psycho bitch._

 _You have something in mind, don_ _’t you?_

 _About Rawlins, that quicksilver of his is metal. I can manipulate metal. May not be able to stop the armor once it_ _’s in place, but it shifts when he launches the shrapnel. It exposes the human body for brief moments before it covers him again._

_But he regenerated._

_Did he though? He snapped back together, but it was broken while encased in the quicksilver. If we hit the base of the brain, I don_ _’t think the quicksilver will be able to fix that._

_That means you and someone else are going to have to get real close, while someone else is bait._

_Yeah. And it would help if you threw your new compulsion skill into the mix._

“Crap.”

Frank looked at Karen. “What?”

“Might as well tell them.”

Karen looked back, meeting Talia’s green eyes and Bill’s dark brown ones. They weren’t holding hands anymore. She sat back.

“Talia has an idea of how to take out Rawlins.” After Karen explained it. They all sat in contemplative silence. It was a risky plan, but it was the only one they had.

“Frank and I always carry knives,” Billy finally said. “If the opportunity arises, we’ll take it.” He turned to Talia. “Just say when.”

“You’re talking to me now?” That didn’t sound pouty, not at all.

Billy was counting again. “It’s physically _painful_ to not talk to you. Even when I’m furious at you.”

“It’s not my fault the sex was so good I was jui—  Pum—  Oh for Christ’s sake!” Talia threw her hands up in frustration.

“Encountered a plethora of energy?” Frank took his eyes off the road at the stunned silence. “I have a vocabulary that doesn’t revolve around swear words.”

Talia bit off a smile. “A plethora of energy that I used to heal all of us.”

“I wasn’t going to brag.” Bill sat back on the seat and smiled.

Karen could hear the smugness from the front seat.

“You would’ve if you’d known,” Talia said. “And you would’ve known if you hadn’t flown off the handle like some high strung stallion.”

“Stallion, eh?” Talia bit back a snort. “Hey,” Billy tugged on Talia’s hand. “Look at me. I’ve seen you unconscious and bleeding enough to last me multiple lifetimes. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I’ll do what I have to,” Talia said. “To protect what’s mine.”

Karen sat back and smiled. “I like it when the kids play nice.”

 

 

They passed through the center of Moorehead, over a creek and down into a long winding road with fewer and fewer homes until they were on a dirt road.

“You sure you know where you’re going?” Bill asked.

Seemed like a lifetime ago that they had this same conversation.

“No,” Frank answered. But he kept driving.

The last time he’d talked to Gunner, really talked, not that one word warning, they had talked about this property, one that was in his great-aunt’s name. One that couldn’t be traced back to him so easily. One that if shit hit the fan, could be defensible because he knew these woods. Frank hoped that was still the case.

The road got worse, less traveled and slow-going. No way to really get this far without an SUV. Frank might have considered the Cayenne overpriced, but it did the job. After what seemed like an eternity, the headlights swamped a darkened cabin.

“Not sure it was such a good idea to come unannounced at past two in the morning.”

Probably not, but Frank got out of the car anyway.

“Gunner!”

Frank took a couple of cautious steps forward. There was smoke coming out of the chimney, so someone was in there. Talia came up on his left, and he looked back at the Cayenne. Karen was standing by the passenger’s open door, Bill beside her and checking their surrounding area.

“Gunner! It’s Frank Castle. Come on man, you told me about this place.” He dropped his chin. “Can you guys pick up anything?”

Talia had that unfocused look he knew was her talking to Karen. It was those moments that they were the most vulnerable, their reactions just a tad slower. Frank found Billy and motioned for him to get closer to Karen. Just in case. Frank stepped in front of Talia. His trigger finger tapping against his thigh.

“He’s not in the house, but blending into the woods like we’ve never seen before. You sure he’s human?”

Frank’s face snapped up. To be honest, Frank didn’t know. Whereas before it would have been a definite yes, now anything was game. This whole situation had opened up a world previously unknown to him. It was possible that Henderson was more than just a boy from Kentucky.

“Don’t know. Blending how?”

Gunner was raised in the woods and could camouflage with the best of them, but there’s no way any form of concealment could hide from someone who reads minds and hears heartbeats.

“We can’t tell him apart from the woods.”

Frank met Talia’s eyes. “How’s that possible?”

“I—” Talia shouldered Frank out of the way and stepped in front of an arrow meant for his chest. Her hand snapped the shaft from the air as she crashed into his chest.

Frank grabbed her around the waist, pushing her down into the cover of the cabin’s porch.

“You catch arrows now?”

Talia crouched beside him. “I slowed it down first.”

Frank was starting to sympathize with Bill. “Stay.” He ignored Talia’s indignant growl. “Brother!” Frank stepped into the open, hands up. Bill had shoved Karen back into the SUV and shut the door. Good.

“We’re not here to hurt you. It’s Frank Castle and Bill Russo.”

Talia stepped out of the cover and stomped next to Frank.

“Talia!”

“Did you just order me like a damn dog?” She stepped in front of him again. “Who do you think saved your ass the last time an arrow came flying at your face?” She turned back to the woods. “Gunner Henderson!”

Then she held out her hands. There was a yelp and a whoosh and a very clear…

“…da hell!?”

And a hunting bow was in her hands. “You ever shoot at me again, and I’ll make you sorry!” Furious green eyes turned to him, smacking the bow hard against his chest. “You do not get to order me around unless we have a helluva lot less clothes on.” She shoved the weapon into his arms, spun around and marched up the steps. “…damn Marines…llamas!”

Talia barged into the cabin, slamming the front door and within thirty seconds light was coming from the cabin.

“Captain?” Frank turned to look at a confused and more than a little stunned, Gunner Henderson. “What the hell was that?”

Frank opened his mouth, but Karen walked past him, golden hair bouncing on her shoulders.

“Bring the bags,” she said glancing back.

Frank turned Gunner. “Unstoppable forces of nature.”

Gunner nodded. “Mighty pretty, though.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry I shot at y’all. Wasn’t expectin’ company.”

Bill, carrying both duffels, stopped beside them and inhaled deeply. “You see what I’m dealing with?” He looked at Henderson. “Gunner.”

“Captain.”

“I got this,” Bill lifted the bags, “get the gear.”

 

 

The cabin wasn’t one of those fancy hunting lodges, just a simple three bedroom, bath ,and living area/kitchen. Talia had the fireplace going and kicked her feet up on the end table.

_You catch arrows now?_

Talia met Karen’s gaze and shrugged. _I heard it, Kare. Felt the changes in the air as it flew at Frank. Stopped it and snagged it out of the air._

_Aren't we both full of surprises._

_You have to start building them shields. Malice will hit them harder if she figures out what they mean to us._

_Yeah, about that._ Karen took a deep breath. _I started doing that. Starting the foundation._

_When?_

_On the drive here. After you two made up. That was really sweet, by the way._

_Shut up. What about the shields?_

_It_ _’s done._

Talia straightened. “What? Doesn’t that take—?”

“Hours of intensive work? Yes.” Karen turned sideways, resting her arm on the back of the beat-up, but surprisingly comfortable futon. “I set the foundation, and then they just knitted themselves up in front of me.”

That wasn’t just rare, it was unheard of. Mental shields don’t just assemble themselves.

“You mean Frank and his storm did that.”

Karen shook her head. It would almost make sense that Frank’s storm could take over like that. It had an ingrained need to protect as much as destroy. “Frank _and_ Bill.”

“I guess names do summon,” Talia said, nodding to the door as the men entered.

Bill dropped the duffels by the futon and headed for the small table opposite them, eyeing Talia the whole time.

“Sorry about shooting at you, ma’am,” Gunner said looking at the floor, shuffling his feet.

Talia’s eyes zeroed in on Marine. “Talia. No harm done.”

Gunner lifted his head and met her eyes with a quick nod.

“Karen.”

Henderson did another quick nod. “Ma’am.”

“They are SHIELD agents,” Billy said from the table.

Gunner froze. “What’s SHIELD got to do with this mess?”

“Want the long story or the short one?” Frank asked.

“Lemme make some coffee.” Gunner took three long steps then turned back around, rubbing the back of his neck. He had a hard time looking at Karen and Talia. “There are three rooms back that away. Feel free to take any of them. The sheets are clean and all.”

“We’re not kicking you out of your own bed, Gunner.”

Henderson glanced at Talia. “No, ma’am.” He nodded to the bundle near the fireplace. “Not ready for that yet. Been sleeping right here.”

_Kare?_

Karen took a deep breath and focused on Gunner Henderson and what she saw, made her want to cry. _I got him._

Talia got up and walked up to Gunner, waiting for him to look up. He did, and Talia waited.

 _Yeah, he_ _’s good, Talia._

Talia wrapped her arms around him tight. Gunner was frozen for a good thirty seconds as if trying to remember what he was supposed to do. But the body remembers even if the mind is bruised and struggling to put itself back together. His arms came around her awkwardly at first, then tighter, burying his face into the hollow of her neck and holding on to her like a lifeline.

“We got you, Gunner. We got you.”

 

 

Karen and Talia watched as Frank and Bill took turns catching Gunner up on their little adventure. They were only leaving the personal stuff out.

 _You slept with Captain Castle, didn_ _’t you?_

Karen shifted on the futon. _Yes, we actually did sleep._

With _him, not just in the same room. You shared the bed._

Karen hated when her fair skin betrayed her. Heat blossomed from her cheeks down.

_You did!! You go, girl._

_We didn_ _’t do anything other than talk._ Getting into details about the mind palace just seemed too personal right now. Karen would tell Talia, just not yet. _Unlike the two of you._

_Bang Castle like a screen door during a hurricane. It will make you feel better._

Karen managed to cover her mouth in time to muffle the laugh. Frank looked in her direction, a half-grin tugging at his lips before he turned back to Bill and Gunner.

Karen and Talia sipped at the mugs of coffee. It was better than hospital coffee, at least. And it did have caffeine, so that had to be good enough.

 _I_ _’d kill for a cortado right now._ Karen sighed thinking of the coffee like a favorite lover.

_Kare? Make Gunner a shield._

Karen blinked. _I was planning on it._

_Right now._

_What? Why? Do you sense—_

_No, I just had a_ thought.

Karen looked at Talia who was studying the men like a scientist focusing in on a bug under a microscope. Her eyes closed, mug in her hands, the scent of coffee filling her nose. Karen turned her inner eye, she’d always loved that term for some reason, to Gunner. Typically, when making protective shields, it was a collaborative effort to build the right amount of defense. But foundations could be constructed anytime anywhere and often on the fly.

That’s what Karen did, and even though she didn’t know Gunner all that well, she knew enough to build his foundation on the Kentucky woods. It would be familiar enough for him to be comfortable and able to build upon it on his own even without any Psy talent. When she was done, Karen took a step back, looking around at her handiwork and was quite proud of it.

And that’s when it happened. Just like Frank and Bill. The foundation knitted itself together building walls, shoring up the defense. All on its own.

“Holy shit.”

The men stopped talking and turned to Karen.

“Once is a novelty, twice a coincidence but three? That makes it a pattern and all roads lead to Kandahar.”

Karen bit her lip, mind reeling back to that night. “What was so special about that damn portal?”

“It leaked,” Talia said. “I saw it the moment we arrived. Didn’t think anything of it because we were ass deep in duglies—”

“I shouldn’t ask,” Billy interrupted, “but, demon uglies?”

Talia flashed Bill a brilliant smile that lit the entire room. He looked more than a little gobsmacked by it, still staring at Talia when she turned back to Karen.

“It had been open for at least twelve hours seeping out, whatever, that whole time.”

A thousand thoughts were running through Karen’s head. Again with that feeling that the whole universe was right at her fingertips if only she could stretch a little further.

“They could’ve been infected by it,” Karen said. “But Fitz always tests for Terrigen on all portals.”

The memory of Terrigen tainted portal opening near a village in Davedi, Togo still haunted Karen. By the time it had been all over, there were ninety-seven villagers alive out of over eleven hundred residents. The lucky ones died immediately upon exposure, but over half died in the midst of debilitating pain as their bodies attempted mutation.

“We don’t test for Exogen or Isogen or the million of other _gens_ we don’t even know about yet.”

Karen was drowning in information and possibilities. She needed to break through the surface. Sitting back she closed her eyes and focused. If it had been a tainted portal, then it exposed everyone that came in contact with it. Depending on the extent of the exposure it could be hundreds of people, but there hadn’t been any alerts of mass deaths.

Karen looked at Talia. “That doesn’t explain how.”

Gens affected hosts by touch or some ingestion. Being airborne wasn’t enough to trigger any form of transformation.

Talia turned to the still silent men and tilted her head. “Did you get injured in the Kandahar mission? Open wounds?”

Frank looked at Gunner and Bill, both nodded. “Yeah. We were all bleeding that night.”

“No one left Kandahar without at least one trip to morphineland,” Billy added.

“That’s its way in,” Talia said. “Both of us have scars from that night, too.”

Karen rubbed the scar on her leg. “I get why it would affect us, but the _gens_ are particular about Kree markers. They kill hosts that lack it.”

“It could be a _gen_ that doesn’t discriminate or something we haven't seen before. Whatever that portal vomited out it affected all of us. With or without the markers.”

It made sense to Karen, but something was still niggling at her. “We can have Fitz look at the data.”

 _It explains Frank_ _’s storm manifestation, Gunner’s chameleon qualities. But what about Billy?_

 _Lemme have sex with him a couple more times, and I_ _’ll figure it out._

_Talia!_

“Care to share with the rest of us mortals?” Frank turned those dark brown, trusting eyes to Karen.

How was she going to explain this? _Oh, by the way, some alien mist has permanently mutated you via the open wounds you received in its proximity._ That would go well.

“We’ve been infected by portal herpes.”

 _Talia!_ That was worse. So much worse. Karen covered her eyes.

“What? Tell me it’s not true? It will be lingering for the rest of our lives.” Talia’s jaw tightened. She looked down at her bare forearms and pulled the long sleeves down. “I’m going to crash for a while.” She got up, walking to the other side of the house without looking back.

Karen got hit with a burst of conflicting emotions until it got smothered and abruptly shut off. Goddammit, Talia. Karen looked at Frank, Gunner, and Bill who knew something was up, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“That demon portal we had to deal with in Kandahar probably infected your whole squad.” She took a deep breath. “Not sure what that means, yet, but our team will figure it out.” She met Frank’s eyes. “It might explain what’s happening to us.” Karen shrugged. “All four of us.” She looked at Gunner. “And why we couldn’t find Gunner.” She turned back to Frank. “You good for now? I just…I’m just gonna—” she pointed in Talia’s direction and left.

She found Talia in the room furthest from the living area, sitting on the bed eyes closed and meditating. Or trying to look she was meditating. As hard as Talia was trying to silence her mind, Karen could feel the tumult, if not actually hear it.

Karen grabbed Talia’s hand and held it between her own. “We’re going to figure this out, Talia.”

Green eyes flashed bright and fierce. “You’re not afraid of touching anymore.” Talia looked at their hands and smiled. “Is that the storm’s doing or are you just a badass?”

The laughter just bubbled out. “Maybe I’ve always been a badass.”

“That is true,” Talia said.

“Gotta keep up with my partner.” They leaned into each other.

“I have fantasies that start out this way,” Billy said leaning against the door frame. “Two beautiful women in bed. Me.”

“We know.”

“He couldn’t handle both us.” Karen, even though her cheeks pinked fiercely, told Talia.

“We’d probably kill you.”

His head dipped forward, eyes heavy with promise, raw and hungry. Talia was getting the full brunt of that smolder, but even from the sidelines, Karen got a little light-headed. _Wow!_ That pretty face and that look were enough to get Karen to think some very inappropriate thoughts. And if it wasn’t for one Captain Frank Castle, she might even act on them.

“Worth it.” Those inviting lips curved into a devilish smile. “Come on, princess, let’s go to bed.”

Talia stiffened. “Don’t call me princess.”

Bill nodded slowly, then his lips quirked. “Snooky-wookums?”

Karen had to turn aside and looked at the wall. If she burst out laughing, Talia would never forgive her, but it was a sheer joy to see someone, other than herself, go toe to toe with Talia.

“I could just sleep here, with Frank and Karen.” Talia motioned at Karen. “She likes being the brisket.”

Karen snorted, hand covering her eyes. “I’m never going to be able to eat that sandwich again.”

“Let’s go to bed. _Love._ ”

The world didn’t stop for Karen, but it sure did for Talia. For a full handful of seconds. Karen felt her friend’s stunned bewilderment, and a bone-deep aching _want_ that was harshly snuffed out. It was gone so fast Karen thought she’d almost imagined it. Then Talia kicked her legs over the bed, picked up her boots and moseyed over to Bill.

“Still being way overconfident there.”

Bill leaned forward. “That’s part of my charm.”

“The body, yes. The arrogance? Not so much.” She turned.

“Liar.” He smacked her in the ass.

Those green eyes narrowed. “Did you just _spank_ me?”

“And you liked it.” Talia _humphed._ “Again with the lyin’."

 

 

 

When Frank walked into the room, Karen was chuckling quietly, all cheeks pink and sunshine. The warmth and _goodness_ just blanketed him, then the presumption hit him like a freight train freezing him half-way into the room. There was another room. Even if Bill and Talia weren’t sharing, which they were, there was another place he could sleep. They had only shared a bed once, yet, here he was assuming they’d share a bed again. The thing at the lake - mental palace, whatever - had been confusing and perfect and made it seem like this was the new normal.

Karen looked up, a smile still on her lips. “Left or right?” Her hands faltered on the quilt. “I-I mean—”

“Left.” They looked at each other, slow sheepish grins mirroring each other. They’d _both_ assumed, and that made it awkwardly perfect.

Frank kicked off the boots, hesitated with the crew shirt. He didn’t want to push it taking it off. There was a feeling that all they needed was a little push and all his good intentions about doing this - whatever this thing with Karen was - right would go out the window in a New York minute. He left it on.

“What was so funny? Before.” He slid under covers welcomed by Karen’s warmth.

Karen slid down into the pillow and turned to her side, a smile large and bright. “I just had front-row seats to Billy’s full-court press.”

“Oh, yeah?” He chuckled and turned to her. “Impressive?”

Blue-blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “It certainly caught Talia’s attention.”

“And yours?” He wasn’t jealous of Bill’s charm, a little envious at times, sure. And this time he was fishing.

Those eyes saw right through him though. “Not my game.”

“That right?” He’d known, but it was nice to have it confirmed.

Karen nodded. “I prefer the lakeside and different company.”

“Sunshine, you are making it very difficult for me to be a gentleman.”

He didn't need no superpowers to feel that feminine hubris in that smile and those brilliant eyes.

“Good.”

 

Frank woke up wrapped around Karen. From the light, it looked like it was only mid-morning. He had no interest in getting up, but carefully extricated himself so as not to wake her. He picked up the discarded boots and headed for the kitchen.

Armed with a mug of raw caffeine, Frank walked out into the porch and found Gunner.

“Capt’n.” Gunner raised his mug. “Get any sleep?” He cleared his throat. “Not that I’m asking for details.”

Frank chuckled. “It’s not like that.” He didn’t need to explain anything. “Yet.” But had to make his intentions perfectly clear. They stood in companionable silence.

“Brother, I did not want to bring this super-powered shitshow to your front door.” He hadn’t been blind to the fact that Gunner was struggling. There had been cracks in Kandahar, and he’d reached out to Curtis. Hoping his friend could help a fellow teammate. But the fallout of their actions had caught up way to fast for any support to be established.

“I needed a defensible position for a change. They’re going to find us. You don’t need to be here for that.”

Gunner nodded. “When you called,” he cleared his throat, “I had to leave my place to answer it. Left the super fixing a leaky faucet in the kitchen. Went halfway outside when the place blew up around me.

“The news said it was a gas leak. They killed four people to get to me.” Gunner turned to Frank. “Couldn’t look myself in the mirror if I didn’t get those people justice. If I can’t get Davis’ little girl justice.”

Frank’s hand landed on Gunner’s shoulder. “All right, brother. We’ll finish it together.”

“We need to walk the perimeter,” Gunner said. “I have to show you were the traps are at.”

Frank studied Gunner. “You’ve been busy.”

 

It took an hour to get all of them up, decent and caffeinated. It took thirty seconds of walking to get to the first snare.

Gunner pointed. “This is a—”

“Feather spear trap,” Karen said as she leaned closer to the primitive but deadly device. Her finger trailed the across the six-inch spikes tied to a branch.

“Maybe it’s not your first rodeo,” Frank said looking impressed.

Karen’s mouth twisted in a small grin. “Maybe it isn’t.”

“The things we hunt aren’t always stupid.” Talia crouched down eyeing the tripwire.

Gunner took it in stride. “I can map this all out for y’all.”

Karen shook her head. “Just point them out. We’ll remember.”

“Nice to know where they are ahead of time for a change.” Talia rubbed her denim-clad hip.

“Is that where you got that scar from?”

“Didn’t get it eating bonbons, pretty boy.”

There was a paracord snare trap in the middle of hanging tree branches that would garrote its victim in seconds. Several small arms cartridge traps ready to blow the foot off whoever stepped on them. Two different spike pits. Swinging logs, hidden wooden spikes, and several other variations of the spear trap.

“Those,” Gunner pointed to subtle markings on a tree, “are the gap markers. If you have to run, do it in between them,” he pointed to its partner, “not to a side ‘cuz something will hit you. This goes on for a mile yonder,” he nodded, “only a quarter-mile in the back. Ran out of time to go further.”

Gunner had been busy. Frank saw Karen and Talia exchange a long look. He didn’t need no super mental power to know what they were saying. Gunner had been a little _too_ focused on the traps. Frank couldn’t help but agree. There was an edge of paranoia in the quantity and detail of the snares. It wasn’t without reason, but Gunner had built all of these in less than a week and before he’d known that Frank was bringing super-powered villains to the party.

When this was all over, Frank was taking Gunner to Curt’s support group. Hell, it wouldn’t hurt for all of them to spend some time there. As much as Frank hated all that touchy-feely bullshit, talking about it would help all of them.

“That’s ‘bout it.” Gunner took off his cap and scratched his head. “Y’all wanna get some grub?”

Karen nodded. “Sounds good, Gunner.”

They started the trek back to the cabin, Gunner in the lead, Frank, and Karen following close, then Bill and Talia.

 

 

_Need a breather._

Karen slowed her steps. _Talia? You okay?_

 _Yeah._ Exasperated sigh. _I just need to think for a bit. It_ _’s all good. I’m fine. Really. Promise. Actually, I’m way fine. That’s why I always score._

Karen laughed and started walking again, head motioning that everything was all right when Frank looked at her.

 _We_ _’ll talk when I get back. I want you to check some stuff._

_Okay. Be careful._

_Me? I_ _’m always careful._

Karen watched Talia turn, heading for a ridge. Billy did a quick pivot and followed.

“We’ll catch up,” he called out.

Frank saw them walk off and turned to Karen. “Problem?”

Karen shook her head. “Don’t think so. She needed some space.”

“She’s not getting it alone.”

“Yeah, don’t think she planned that out too well.”

 

 

“I don’t need a sitter,” Talia said looking over her shoulder, but didn’t stop walking. A thousand thoughts were going through her mind. Well, more like one six-foot-plus problem that had to be solved.

“But you like my company anyway.”

Egotistical. Puffed-up hotshot. The problem was that he was right. But she needed to think, preferably when he wasn’t distracting her with that pretty face, those dark eyes, and that luscious mouth of his. What those perfect lips and those large, just the right side of rough, hands could do to her body had been carved into her soul. She was shallow, that was the problem, and it had finally caught up to her.

“You sure about that, pretty boy?” He was checking out her ass. It felt like a goddamn caress.

Talia looked down at her hand and traced one of the gray lines that covered her whole body. They had started this way, lines gradually appearing and getting progressively darker after Kandahar. It had freaked her out. Enough so that she’d almost, _almost_ , reached out to her sister. That would have been a fucking nightmare, and if she died tomorrow, she was glad to have avoided it. Medusalith would have said that’s what you get for consorting with the lower caste. Snooty bitch.

Talia had benefited from the caste system by accident of birth. She wasn’t going to apologize for something out of her control, but it didn’t mean she’d help sustain that fucked up ideology. That’s why she was on Earth and with SHIELD. Well, Fury hadn't given her much choice. Join up or get hunted down and locked up. She had never been much of a joiner, but it turned out she had an affinity for blowing shit up and the killing. She was good at that, too. Almost too good.

It got to a point where even Fury had started to get concerned. Until little miss sunshine walked into her life and smoothed all the _I am darkness, I am death_ , mass murderer vibes Talia had developed. Karen had a gift in dealing with darkness. No wonder Castle’s storm loved her.

Then it hit her. Christ, how could she have been so blind?

Her power unbalance, that’s how. The one that started in Kandahar. She’d recognized the shift in her body down to her atoms. Like going through Terrigenesis all over again, but so much worse. It had made her skin crawl from the inside out. She’d ignored all of it in the name of helping Karen through her crisis, and it had only made things worse.

Then she stumbled on this arrogant, pretty boy who she wouldn’t have given the time of day —  

Okay, she would have but just to chew him up and spit him out and move on. Not for this - this _not_ soulmates whatever. She’d teased _Karen_ about it. It was a sweet concept, but it was just a simplistic, indulgent fantasy. It wasn’t real. For Christ’s sake, she was from a different planet and not even human. Even if she did believe in that fairy tale, it wouldn’t be about them.

Bill grabbed her hand, spinning her to face him. His thumbs came up to stroke her cheeks. The energy flowed from his touch, tingling her skin causing her heart to skip a beat or two.

“I feel like I’ve known you for a lifetime and it’s still not enough.”

Those deep brown eyes saw right through her. What was the old saying? Be careful what you wish for.

“You don’t have to say it out loud, for it to be true.”

And then he kissed her with those lips that were made for kissing. A girl can only take so much, and the power flowed into her like a freight train.

Bill pulled back after several long seconds, tongue running over his lower lip as if he was trying to taste her. “Did you feel that?”

 _Hells to the yeah_ she did. Those dark brown eyes were a richer brown than her favorite coffee. She could happily drown in them. And that was part of the problem, wasn’t it?

_Karen. We were wrong. About Bill. About Frank._

It had been right in front of them the whole time, and they’d missed it.

It was a rustle of leaves, a change in the air, a surge of blood rushing through the body that alerted her. Talia grabbed Bill’s shirt and pulled him down.

A wet, sticky blob of something crashed into the tree above them. It took a second for Talia to process what had attacked them. It was a marbled pink _thing_ on a tree, some twenty feet up. Then it crawled, on its hands and feet down the trunk, spun around and arms - freaking long pink _arms_ \- sprung out from its torso, securing it more firmly on the tree.

“What the fuck is that?”

Later, much later, when her mind could process the impossibility rather than just scream in horror, Talia would say that it was more like a huge spider crab with a very flat nose. Except marbled pink and wearing clothes and vaguely human.

“Spider-Ham.”

_KAREN!_

It launched its goop at them again, but they were already up and moving. Talia tried a gust a wind to shake the damn thing off the tree, but its limbs held tight. She hated having to uproot the trees but that was next, and the damn spider ham just jumped some ten feet to the next tree and kept bombarding them with the white goo.

Fucker.

“I have an idea.”

Bill looked at her. “Why do I feel like I’m the bait?”

They moved through the trees quickly until Talia saw the marker she’d been looking for. She spun around and created a gust of wind, sending spider ham into a particular tree. It launched it’s goop and hit Bill around the torso, trapping him against a tree.

Talia raised her hands, but the white goop imprisoned them against another tree, then more of the sludge hit her on the chest and legs, pinning her against the trunk. She looked at the goo. Webbing. Because of course it is.

Spider ham crawled down the tree and walked to them. Those two extra limbs were really gross.

It snortled. “I’ve had flies that were harder to catch.” It moved between two trees. “You ain’t so tough.”

Talia smiled, and spider ham flinched. When the webbing securing her melted away, his eyes bugged out. Bet he’d never seen prey fight back.

“You ain't so smart.”

Spider ham took another step prepping to launch more webbing, then it looked at its feet and had enough time to turn its head to see one of Gunner’s swinging logs hit its side, carrying it up into the air to meet its doom.

_Whoosh. Splat._

And that was the end of spider ham.

Bill cringed. “I’ll never look at spiders the same way again.”

Talia pulled the webbing sludge off of him.

“Aw, you squished the icky spider,” a long dark haired woman, half of her face mangled with scars came out of the tree line.

Malice.

 

 

Karen stiffened.

It was a sixth-sense that had Frank pushing Karen down a split second quicker than her own move to get him low. The bullets flew overhead, slamming into the trees. Frank spared a glance on Gunner but should have known the Marine was ready and moving. He was also the only one with a long-range weapon, the hunting bow.

Frank was only carrying a knife because he’d been complacent. Thought they’d had more time. So all of their guns were in the cabin.

_Goddammit._

More bullets splattered into the trees, launching bits of wood bits into the air like deadly shrapnel. Frank covered Karen as some sliced his cheek and forehead.

“We have to keep moving.”

He half-pulled Karen between the trees, careful to avoid the snares. Gunner came up beside him, then took the lead. These were his woods, and Frank was willing to follow. The minute they entered a partial clearing, Frank knew what Gunner had in mind. They’d have the men chasing them caught in between traps. The goal was to split the chasing team into two groups.

One, Gunner would lead into the small cartridge traps. The other, Frank and Karen would lead to the spike pits. They started to move in opposite directions when the ear-shattering shriek broke through the forest.

The preternatural scream slammed into the trees like a massive storm, forcing the leaves and branches to bend or else break. The sound bounced inside Frank’s head with a piercing bite reminiscent of Agony. Karen dropped to one knee, hands over her ears. So did Gunner. Frank managed to stay upright but just.

Even when the wail had stopped, the sound continued to ping-pong inside Frank’s head. Warm wetness dribbled out of one ear, his hand came away red. He had to blink several times to clear the fog in his head. There was movement in the trees. Frank reached out for Karen and stumbled.

Men in tactical gear broke through the trees, weapons raised and wearing noise-reducing headgear. They slowly approached fanning out.

Another shriek broke through the woods, and this time it dropped Frank to all fours.

He didn’t think he passed out. Not exactly, but things did get dark for a second or two. He was still on all fours looking up. They were surrounded.

And he couldn’t hear a thing.

Fuck.

There were three men closest to Frank. Two others bookended Gunner, and another two had their weapons trained on them. The last one pulled Karen to her feet by her collar, and it took everything Frank had to not lash out and kill every single one of them. He could do it. But not before they’d hurt her. There was blood coming out of her ear as well. Whatever that shriek thing was likely burst something internally.

When those blue-blue eyes turned to him, everything stopped. And right now, surrounded by enemies who wanted them dead, she looked at him, with confidence and steel and that goddamn brilliant sunshine that stood right up to death and welcomed it like an old, treasured friend.

She’s about to kill the man holding her and the two near to him, too. She expected Frank to take care of the three closest to him and help Gunner if he needed it.

Can he do that?

_Hell, yeah._

These men, these killers, are all going to die and Frank, you better be alive when its all over.

 _Yes, ma_ _’am._

 

 

_Trust it, Frank. And do what you do so well._

Karen reached out to Frank’s storm, welcoming it. They are more than just friends now. She punched through the shield of the man aiming at Frank and didn’t wait to see the result. One down.

Frank pulled out a knife and gutted the closest man. Two. He swung behind the gutted meatsack, lifting the dangling assault rifle up and fired. Three. Four. Five.

Gunner used an arrowhead to stab the nearest enemy in the neck. Six. Grabbed the dying man’s handgun, dropped to one knee and let out a hail of bullets. Seven.

Karen ducked and spun and punched the elbow joint of the one that is holding her shirt in the direction it was never meant to go. The scream was cut short when she jammed the heel of her hand into his throat. It didn't matter what killed him first, the crushed windpipe or her touch. Eight.

Her ears are ringing because of that goddamn banshee. It would go away in a few minutes, but they don’t have them to spare. Karen pulled at one of the dead men’s tactical headset and put it on. The men quickly follow suit. They probably can’t hear either, but multiple exposures to a banshee shriek can cause permanent damage. Repeated exposure caused insanity and death.

Frank and Gunner, headsets now in place, looked at each other, nodded. Men. Frank staggered a step, then straightened and marched up to her, hands cupping her face. Those dark eyes of his mirrored the wildness of the storm.

_Brave, strong, and so goddamn stubborn. Gonna be the death of me, sunshine._

Karen’s lip hitched up. _Not until you buy me dinner first._

Frank blinked, eyes scrunching as if he didn't quite believe that he heard that much less heard it right.

They shouldn’t be able to talk like this. He shouldn’t be able to send thoughts as clearly as if spoken, sure as hell should be able to receive anything but basic commands from her. But here they were talking without speaking.

That storm of his swirled around them, eager and ready to destroy.

Gunner gave them a moment, then tapped Frank on the shoulder. _Gotta go._

Right. They have to find Talia and Bill. Karen closed her eyes. _Talia? Are you OK?_

Then the world around them exploded in fire. One fireball, hit a tree causing it to shatter apart, flames flying into nearby branches.

They ducked and ran, but the cover kept exploding, and they couldn't find the firestarter. They have one breath, one moment, and the tree behind them detonated and toppled over in a flaming wall of fire. Frank pushed Karen out of the way before jumping and crashing to safety.

Karen took a step, and the flames dance higher. Moved in the opposite direction and it was the same. _Dammit._ The wall of flames between Frank and Karen flared higher, hotter and continued to grow.

_Karen, you go! Go now!_

_Hell, no!_

Not going to get rid of her that easy, Marine. There’s only one way open for her, and she took it. Going around and flanking the firestarter. Except twenty yards into her trek, she ran into assault rifles pointing directly at her.

 

 


	12. The Rise is Coming

 

 

Talia and Bill dropped at the first disorienting shriek. They never heard the second one.

A consequence of being Inhuman royalty is being trained from birth to react to any threat, large or small with an automatic shield. It’s the only way to survive the assassination attempts.

Talia’s shield never disassembles. It’s always on and how she can raise it so quickly on demand. If she had to explain it, she’d say it’s a door to a house. When it’s open people or things can come and go. When it’s closed, they can’t.

Having a shield charged consistently is draining, but a perk of Attilan royalty is greater than average - peak Inhuman, not the laughably pathetic human kind - response time, increased endurance, and speed. Double bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes also help.

Automatic shielding is the only way of life Talia has ever known.

Talia grabbed Bill and slammed that door shut around them. There were still after-affects from the banshee, the ringing, the discomfort and, all things considered, just mild vertigo. But overall, they got off light.

The problem with shielding is that nothing gets out. There’s no way to attack without breaking the barrier erected to protect in the first place. All shields eventually weaken, and if you wait for that to happen before attacking, then you’re dead. Karnak never minced with words.

Malice took off her headset and waited.

Talia dropped the shield and stepped in front of Bill.

“You’re so easy to find,” Malice said. “I could follow the stench of your arrogant superiority from a galaxy away.”

“Always with the monologuing.” Talia was so done with this bitch. She raised her hand and tore Malice’s heart apart from the inside.

Or that’s what was supposed to happen.

Malice just stood there and smiled. “Thor lost his hammer? Want to give it another shot? I’ll wait.”

The other thing about being Attilan royalty is never losing to an opponent. Ever.

If Malice wanted Thor, Talia would oblige. Bolts of lightning flew at Malice.

One minute she was a female version of the God of Thunder, the next she was in the air and sent hurtling over the ravine and out of sight to meet her demise.

 

 

“Oh, we’ll have none of that,” Malice said walking up behind Bill, who stood perfectly still. “She didn’t even say a proper, hello.” Malice pouted before turning to him. “You must be the new pet she’s so fond of.”

Bill looked at the woman and at her doppelganger some fifteen feet away. He had complete and absolute faith in Talia. He knew what she was capable of, had witnessed it, but when she had been sent hurtling over the ravine, he discovered it was near impossible to breathe when your heart was lodged in your throat.

Absolute. Faith. Otherwise, he’d scorch the Earth just to watch it burn.

“Oh, don’t mind the mirror image,” Malice around and raked her long purple nails down his Henley. “At least that damn lizard was good for something. Too bad your little gang of savages didn’t leave enough pieces for even a shoe.

“But where are my manners? I’m—”

“Malice.” Bill looked down at the hand still on his chest, then back to haughty gray eyes.

It didn’t take him long to measure her up. Malice would have been considered quite beautiful if not for the scars that marred the right side of her face. The side she tried in vain to hide behind a sleek wall of hair. It wasn’t the scars that took away from her beauty. No, it was the cold, lifeless eyes that gave rise to feelings of uneasiness. You knew something was off but couldn’t quite put the finger on it. Madness, death or just something so warped that made the primitive brain scream.

“Oh, that’s sweet. She talked about me.” She eyed him from head to toe. “I can see why she liked you. And,” Malice made a sad face, “she _really_ liked you. You totally messed with her equilibrium. I could’ve still tracked her down, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it why it was so easy this time. Then I saw you, and everything made sense. There’s just something about you.”

Malice hummed appreciatively while she circled him, her hand sliding across his chest and over his back. He didn’t react. This sort of power play wasn't new to him. When a grown man tells you that you’re pretty, you know nothing good is coming. The same is true when the void cloaks itself in beauty.

Malice had goaded Talia into using massive amounts of energy against an illusion, thereby leaving her helpless as she careened to a certain death.

 

“Too bad she won’t be around to watch me mess up that _pretty_ little face of yours.” Malice gripped his chin, nails digging on the side of his face, leaving angry crescents. “Like she did mine.” She shoved his face to the side and wandered around the area.

“That was so much easier than I expected,” she said, sounding a little surprised. “Anticlimactic, actually.”  She turned to him. “Leaves me more time to play with you.”

Bill sensed the mental push, but more like a pesky fly. A nuisance rather than a threat.

Malice’s eyes narrowed. “I see they’ve been sharing, and blondie mcblonde has been playing in your head. No matter. It will just make it that much sweeter when I punch through it.”

Rage. Jealousy. Envy. Inferiority complex. He can work with that.

“You’re not a troll.”

She froze. “What did you say?”

“That’s what Talia called you. A troll.” Bill slipped his hands into the pants pockets, gaze wandering aimlessly around the forest. Broad shoulders lifted half-heartedly. “Said you were a tragically misshapen, horribly ugly, stumpy, little no talent troll.”

He turned to Malice, watching gray eyes flash in rage.

“But clearly,” Bill’s head tilted to the side, his eyes traveling the length of her, provocatively, “that’s not true. Those scars don’t take away from your impressive looks.” His lips inched up with a suggestive slant. An unhurried, confident gait brought him to her until they were sharing personal space. “They are magnificent.” Bill’s hand came in deliberate slowness, telegraphing intent. He pushed away a strand of hair away.

Her pupils dilated, breath coming in uneven huffs. There was almost life in those dead gray eyes.

Malice grabbed his hand, nails biting deep into his palm. “If you think I'm going to fall for some silver-tongued compliment you are woefully mistaken. But feel free to carry on this feeble attempt to save your miserably short little life.”

“Oh,” Bill’s eyes crinkled into a pained expression, “I’m not. This isn’t about me at all. It’s all about you.”

Confusion flashed across those cold gray eyes. “What about me?”

“You don’t know my vampire-witch girlfriend very well.” His head dipped, motioning for her to turn and look behind her.

Talia, floating in the air, all glowy and black on black eyed, hands outstretched and looking like a smoking hot Angel of Death. So damn fucking hot. Just look at her. _Mine._

“Well, hello, Jamie.”

Malice froze. “What…How?”

“That’s my girl.” Bill took several steps back from Malice.

Talia’s hands flicked up, and roots shot up from the ground striking, piercing, tearing at delicate flesh. Bill almost felt sorry for Malice. _Almost._ If he were a good man, he’d put the bitch out of her misery, but Malice had messed with his girl and was getting what she deserved.

Talia floated down, now less glowy and back to those stunning green eyes Bill couldn’t get out of his head. He wasn't surprised that she wasn’t suffering from any ill-effects of the power expenditure. That last kiss had been like the very first one, all about energy and power. Except the last one she hadn’t taken anything from him, not even a little. But he’d felt the surge between them, and something had definitely changed.

The roots continued to move through Malice’s body with agonizing deliberateness. Blood dribbled out the woman’s mouth as she struggled to breathe.

“Oops,” Talia’s full lips tugged down, “I think I punctured a lung there.” Malice made a strangled gasp. “That was either the liver or arteries being shredded. Wood is so unforgiving inside a body. Bulldozes right through flesh and vital organs.”

Malice blinked, mouth opening, but only blood came out.

“Oh hun, no,” Talia shook her head, “don’t talk. It will only make it worse. The reason your powers don’t work is that your tiny brain is frantically trying to keep you alive. Spoiler! It won’t. But since we are old friends, I wanted to make sure that my smiling face would be the last thing you ever see.” Talia’s mouth curved into a wondrous smile. “I win, bitch.”

Malice died in agony. Huh. Agony died with malice. And his woman killed them both, quite majestically. The circle of life was fucking vicious.

“That was really, _really_ , dark.” Bill eyed Talia. This woman was fucking perfect. Except when she drove him crazy. God, he couldn’t wait to get her naked again. “Marry me.”

Talia’s green eyes flashed, but there was a small, almost imagined, grin playing across her lips.

“Still way overconfident, hoss.” Talia stiffened. “Karen’s in trouble.”

 

 

“He wants the women alive,” the leader, a man of indeterminate age, told the other soldiers as he motioned with his assault rifle for Karen to lift her hands. “Tell the screamer they have headsets now. That weapon is nullified.”

Karen took a deep breath. There were too many of them. She might be able to punch through one or two shields but not all.

“Go ahead and try it, Blondie,” the leader said. “Give me an excuse to pop a SHIELD agent.”

All righty, then. He was one of those.

“I don’t know where you want me to go, genius.”

If looks could kill. They couldn’t unless it’s a basilisk, but that’s an entirely different ballgame.

“Smith, take point.”  He pushed her on the back with his weapon. “Go.”

They had walked maybe five yards when Karen saw the gap markers. In another lifetime, she might feel shame. Or maybe, when the lives of people she cared about where at stake, she wouldn’t feel any guilt at all.

Smith deviated from the path by one tree. Just one. Took four steps and was flung into the air by a paracord snare that yanked him some fifteen feet in the up, legs swinging wildly and hands desperately trying to prevent the garrote from strangling him. Unfortunately for Smith, mass, speed, and motion all worked against him and the paracord hit at just the right angle to break the hyoid bone, damaging the larynx and cervical spine. One of the other men, spotting trap, cut the nylon cord, sending a lifeless Smith crashing to the ground.

The man behind Karen, also outside the gap marker, stumbled a step and got a spear trap, three sharp spikes, into the unprotected flesh of his lower belly and groin. The fourth hit the body armor and didn’t do the damage of its brethren.

The leader came up and backhanded Karen, sending her stumbling a few steps. “Another of my men gets injured,” he pulled out Ka-Bar, “and I will carve my name into that pretty little face of yours.” He turned to two men. “Pull him out of that shit and help him back to the cabin.” He pointed the knife at Karen. “You lead. The cabin is that a way.”

Hot metallic blood flooded her mouth, and Karen gingerly explored the throbbing sharp pain on her jaw. There would be no guilt when this man died. She hiked back to the cabin.

_Where are you?_

Talia. Karen breathed a sigh of relief. _Looks like back to the cabin with an armored escort of six. You?_

_I_ _’m too far away. We’ll catch up. Frank and Gunner with you?_

_No, they are running from a pyromaniac. Go help them first. Rawlins wants us alive. I_ _’ll be fine._

_Kare._

_Do it. Please._

_Okay. But I swear to Christ, you better stay alive or the world burns and I won_ _’t be the only arsonist._

What the hell did that even mean?

 

 

 

_I_ _’ll come for you._

Frank and Gunner ran through the forest, dodging trees, jumping over logs and doing their best to avoid those damned, explosive balls of destruction being lobbed at their feet and sometimes over their heads by the firebug still on their heels. Gunner’s still in the lead, leaping and avoiding trees and pointing at hazards. They had tried leading the flame boy to Gunner’s traps, but the flaming bombs were incinerating the snares before they could do their jobs.

There was no time to worry about Karen. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. He’d known her for less than a week, but he _knew_ her. Not all the little stuff you learn about someone over months and years of knowing one another. But the big things, like there was no way in hell, she was going to find shelter while they were in danger. Not a chance she’d sit back and do nothing. Which was precisely why he _was_ worried. They had been running long enough for her to have tried something. But the firestarter kept lobbing bombs at them, not concerned about his six.

That meant she wasn’t there to make him worry.

If she wasn’t there, something happened.

Something he wouldn’t like. Something bad.

_Not on my watch._

I’m coming, Karen. As soon as I kill this scumbag.

Frank didn’t know much about Kentucky, but if he had to guess, it was fire season. There were already patches of fires feeding on the kindling. If the damn explosions didn’t get them, the burgeoning forest fire would. All this damn flamethrower had to do was trap them between fires.

And that was exactly what flame boy was trying to do. Gunner had tried to steer them into one of the swinging logs, but the firestarter threw a massive fireball in front of where they were heading. The only option had been to swerve and double back, heading straight for the fire. Now they were blocked in by three sides, the only opening was facing flame boy.

Gunner and Frank took cover behind trees, a lot of good that does when their target can set said cover on fire. They were both carrying commandeered assault rifles. Not like those guys were going to miss them anyway. Frank looked at Gunner, who dropped the rifle and pulled out an arrow from his quiver. One would fire bullets, the other as many arrows as he could. Maybe this wannabe arsonist would be too concerned with one threat to stop the other and maybe one of those would hit the damn target.

Three. Two. One.

Frank let the assault rifle go full auto and just unloaded on the pyro. Gunner was quick. One. Two. Three.

The thing about fire is that it’s all-consuming. In the open, fire doesn’t die a quiet death. There’s too much oxygen, too many things to feed its voracious hunger. Metal? Just more fodder. The bullets and the arrows hit their target, but the fucker turned into an abominable fireman and absorbed it all. Like the goddamned silver-Rawlins.

What is it with these fucking assholes and their goddamn superpowers?

Just hold on, Karen. I’m coming.

Gunner signaled a path to run to. Frank nodded. They zigged and zagged, evading the fire raining on top of them. Frank saw where Gunner was headed. Now all they had to do is get the damn firebug to follow without firebombing the trees ahead of them. Frank stopped, circled the tree trunk, and took aim.

One batch, two batch. Penny and dime.

The stream of bullets got flame boy’s attention. Frank ducked just before the missile of fire tore into the tree, and sending it crashing to the ground.

Frank veered and ran, trying to follow in Gunner’s exact footsteps. They are outside the markers and if the firestarter didn’t get them, the traps just might.

Gunner, some ten yards ahead, jumped and high-stepped over obstacles. Frank tried, tried really hard to replicate the move and just barely missed the cartridge trap. He knew where they are now, where Gunner wanted to lead fire boy.

The asshole was moving like a bull in a china shop, still in his abominable fireman persona. He looked like a walking flame, and that’s actually what he was. Each step left smoldering leaves and scalding dirt behind. Some caught fire, others petered out into half-burned debris. He was leaving a trail of fire behind him.

Frank took a jump a little too far and skimmed the edge of the spike pit. The burning asshole was still marching carelessly forward. Good. Just a few more steps, keep coming asshole with your inflated ego that nothing beats fire.

A tree exploded over his head, and Frank ducked, but now he’s trapped between the fire and burning man and the pit. The menace kept moving, one step, two, creak, snap, collapse, and a broken yelp.

The pit wasn’t that deep, less than five feet down. It wasn’t the fall that did the damage, it was the thirty sharp spikes sticking up at the end of the drop. There was a gasp, a wet slosh, plopping sound and a gurgled groan.

The fire was beating down on Frank. There were three choices, stay and burn, slide into the pit and hope not to become intimately acquainted with the spikes, or jump through the fire and hope that there’s not more fire behind the immediate wall of flames.

Frank looked into the pit. The burning man is no longer abominable, just plain ol’ human. The pit wasn’t deep enough for the quick kill like you see in the movies. The firestarter, a blond man who looked around thirty, could have survived the fall and the spike sticking through his thigh. He could have survived the shallower cuts around his chest. Maybe even the stab wounds on his stomach, but there was no coming back from the spike that had gone through his mouth and deeper into his palate, through his sinuses, and into his brain.

The fire got hotter, and Frank had to decide. Now or never. The tree. He’s betting that it wasn’t all burning. Hoped. He crouched, took a deep breath, and let out a war cry, making a run for it and barreled over crackling wood and smoke. The fire had simply fizzled out, fading away into simmering ash. All the fire in the surrounding area had petered out.

Sounds came back slowly and muffled at first, he’d lost the headgear during the run. Hoped that damn screamer had put a sock in it. Frank touched his ear gingerly. It was sore as fuck, throbbing down to his jaw. But at least he could hear now.

When the smoke waned, he saw Talia all glowy and black on black eyed. She’d snuffed out the fire. He should’ve known. These damn stubborn, brave women. Bill was right behind her, and Frank expected his friend to go ballistic as soon as the bleeding started. Except there’s no anger and no blood.

“You OK with this?” Frank asked Bill, nodding at the power-surged Talia.

One blink to the next, black eyes turned to green. “I don’t need his permission.”

No, she didn’t. Properly rebuked, Frank turned to Talia. “ _You_ OK?”

“Aw,” Talia smiled and tapped his shoulder, “thanks for asking, buddy.”

Buddy? Frank looked at Bill who laughed.

“Yeah, she’s never kissing you again.”

Frank turned to Talia, recognizing the predatory look so like his own.

Green eyes blazed. “Let’s go get our girl.”

 

 

 

Karen stumbled into the clearing, but only because The First to Die pushed her. She’d sent out exploratory feelers, but the men’s shields were all rock solid. It would take a massive amount of energy to punch through and couldn’t be done without alerting the others. Either Malice had become a stronger Psy, or she had help building all of that protection.

“Aw, Agent Page,” William Rawlins stepped off the porch of the cabin, “so nice of you to join us.”

The First to Die pushed her down to her knees.

“Don’t damage the merchandise, Jones. She’s worth one-hundred of you.”

Karen didn’t need to by a Psy to feel the resentment surging out of Jones. Karen preferred her nickname, First to Die.

“Put your men into position, they’ll come for her.”

Jones gritted his teeth. “I know how to do my job.”

“Then I shouldn’t have to tell you, should I?” Rawlins stared at the other man, whether it was the milky-eye or the lack of dominance, Jones spun on his heels and walked back to the tree line.

“Women on their knees have a time and place, Agent Page. This isn’t it.” He tried the staring with her, too. “Unless supplication is your natural state.” His lips twisted in a cruel slant.

Karen never dropped his gaze and stood up. She wasn’t about to beg or plea for any man.

“We know about Ori,” Karen said. “Did you promise him SHIELD if he kept Fury out of your money-making drug operation?”

Rawlins turned to her, surprise and confusing in his face. “You think this is about the money?” Her own surprise must have been evident. “A human might have focused solely on that, but do you really think Inhumans are so pedestrian? You think so little of your own people?”

Wait. What? Because that almost made it sound like this wasn’t a one-man crime syndicate.

“Humans are so uninspiring,” Rawlins continued, “boarish, stupid dilettantes, yet here you are, a goddess amongst primitives, taking orders from inferior beings. Siding with them against your own people. I don’t understand why. Please, don’t tell me there’s goodness in them. There’s usefulness in a cockroach, but you don’t see me hesitating to step on one if they are in my way.”

William Rawlins was one of _those_ villains. Why was it that she always got stuck with the disemphathetic supremacist sociopaths?

“You do realize,” Karen said, “that the caste system practiced by Attilan royalty has _everyone_ born on Earth as inferior, right?”

“Perhaps, but the numbers and time are on our side. And when faced with the human pestilence, all Inhumans will become one.”

Karen felt his conviction. He truly believed the royal house would change and see Earth-born Inhumans as equals. Talk about delusional.

“Talia hates the caste system, if you think she’s going to help you—”

Rawlins shook his head. “That’s not why we need the princess, or you.”

Why would he _need_ them? She could understand their usefulness as weapons, but that didn’t feel like it was what he meant.

“ _You_ _’re_ trying to control SHIELD? To what purpose? Take over governments and make them more Inhuman friendly? Ori will turn on you the moment he has SHIELD. He is a closeted Humanity First supporter.”

Which was why Fury hadn’t been able to grasp why Ori’s committee was stonewalling the investigation on a known Inhuman felon, even if all they had was a codename.

“We don’t have the numbers to go against Attilan,” she continued, “and if even if they did change the caste system to include us, Inhumans would still be outnumbered - what? - a thousand to one against the humans?”

It was probably worse, if they included all the Inhumans who could fight in any capacity, it would still only be at best seventy-five percent of an already small population.

“I see that the possibility of an Inhuman-Human war hasn’t been far from your thoughts.” Rawlins looked like the spider who just caught the fly. “Is that SHIELDs doing or your own? What are the SHIELD contingency plans in case of a war? You know Fury has them. Tell me, do you think Fury would trust you and your team should it happen? Or do you think he’d preemptively lock all of you up?”

Karen had no delusions of Fury. They’d be locked up regardless of which side they chose. The STAKE team had a long leash, but it was still a chain being held by Fury himself.

“Karen, may I call you Karen?”

“No.” She wanted this man who’d terrorized and subjugated their own people just to go away and die. The grandiose ideas of elevating Inhumans to be a power in the world was a vainglorious plan that with each subsequent failure increased the chances of all Inhuman extermination.

“I’ve seen the CIA and FBI contingencies. They all start with _For your safety_ and end in camps with barbed wire fences. That is the future they have planned for us.”

_Humans fear what they do not understand. They are afraid of the dark for its power and of the light for its beauty._

“What will you do when they come for your team, Agent Page?”

Karen’s jaw clenched. Dammit. She refused to believe that was their future. There was a way to coexist with humans. There had to be. There were protections in place. Citizen rights, governmental oversight, SHIELD, World Council, hell, even the Avengers.

But would it really be that hard for one of the kingpins from Humanity First to get elected? Some already had tried and failed, but that didn’t mean that would always be true. Become a senator, create watch lists, get on a committee, take control of SHIELD… _For your safety._

“What will you do?”

They - because she _knew_ Talia - would kill every single one of the men that came after their team.

“Exactly,” Rawlins took a deep breath, chest puffing out, “except we’re not going to wait for humans to come after us with their torches and pitchforks.”

Nausea rolled through Karen. Rawlins had keenly led her directly to where he wanted. He’d sowed the seeds of doubt. Opened Pandora’s Box and no matter how hard she tried, suspicion would always be on her mind.

“We still don’t have the numbers.”

What was she saying? No. No, she wasn’t listening to this mad man with delusions of grandeur. No, she wasn’t giving up on the idea of SHIELD and the Avengers. Wouldn’t betray Fury.

Unless he gave her a reason to.

“Are you sure about that?”

There was only one way to activate the dormant Kree markers, to bring an Inhuman to life. And that would be a catastrophe just like Davedi.

“Terrigen Mists could annihilate the human population, but you couldn't get the whole planet at once, and the survivors would be sleeping giants responding with unmatched savagery.”

Rawlins nodded. “You are everything, I thought you’d be. No, not mists, no leaking portals,” Karen stiffened, “but life finds a way, doesn't it, Karen? Just like Nature Max Fish Oil.”

Karen shook her head. “No, we got all of the tainted supplements before widespread distribution. Only five people were infected.”

“Five that you know of.” Rawlins shrugged. “The CIA keeps tabs on a lot of things.”

They’d missed infected individuals? No, they couldn’t have. There were no unaccounted for Inhumans.

“Not on citizens.” There was no way, even covertly, that the CIA could function in country against its own citizens.

“Unless they are no longer citizens.”

So, the government stripped citizenship of infected individuals leaving them with the CIA as their only recourse. And now the CIA had Inhumans operatives with a grudge against the government. Lovely.

“Is that what you’re using the money for? Finding a way to spread the crystals and force Terrigenesis?” No, she was missing something. “Even if you blanketed the food and water supply, it would take too long for the Terrigens to build up and when the dying started, it would alert the CDC.”

Not food, or water. Terrigen Mists have a short life-span, and they couldn’t blanket the earth because there just weren’t enough crystals to create a cloud that large.

“Quite by accident, we discovered that Terrigen Crystals and heroin are a match made in heaven.”

They put the crystals in the heroin? That would definitely increase the absorption rate. One hit might be enough to trigger Terrigenesis. Her face crumpled in horror.

“People go missing every day, Karen, and if they are doing drugs, then even more so.”

That’s how they were covering the deaths, but it would still be too many.

“Heroin bonded to the crystals in fascinating ways that lead us to see what happens with other drugs. It was that experimentation that gave us to the Holy Grail. Morphine. It bonds even better with the crystals, in fact, it changes them. Makes the absorption quicker and much more subtle.

“We didn’t need Ori to keep SHIELD off of us, we needed him for his committee’s oversight of certain military contracts.”

_No one left Kandahar without at least one trip to morphineland._

No. Nononononono.

“You were experimenting on the soldiers in combat. Tainted the morphine that was being used on the injured.”

Rawlins nodded. “Those experiments had us at three-three percent survival rate of Terrigenesis. You and the princess helped increase that by an additional twelve percent with what you did in Togo.”

Karen blinked.

“Did you think that those who survived did so by accident? You set a procedure for unplanned Terrigenesis. We followed it. You’ll be able to fine-tune the protocol with our new data. We might actually hit fifty percent survivability.”

That number might make this deranged plan work. Change enough humans fast enough, and you control the planet. You control the planet, Attilan had to change in order to survive.

Holy Shit. That was a good fucking plan.

 

 

 

Frank crouched behind a tree, surveying the formation of the six remaining soldiers and calculating how long it would take him to get to Karen and Agent Orange. The thought of Karen in that scumbag’s clutches… Barely controlled fury seethed through him. It was only partially muzzled when he saw that she was safe at least temporarily.

The only thing between him and her were six assault rifles and a super-powered asshole who wouldn't die.

“Gunner and I will take the soldiers.” Frank looked at Gunner who nodded. “The two of you go around behind and get ready to hit Orange.”

“At least I’m not bait this time,” Billy said.

Talia grinned at Bill. “We need to hit that Banshee first.”

Frank looked at the clearing. “How do we figure out who that is?”

“Whoever comes out of the cabin is the Banshee.” His confusion must have shown. “A Banshee is a high-level weapon, not cannon fodder.”

Wouldn’t be wasted in the front lines. Yeah, that made sense.

Frank nodded. “Anyone comes out of the cabin, gets popped first.”

Talia grabbed Frank’s arm. “Don’t get yourself killed or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Frank and Gunner moved closer to their targets and waited, giving Bill and Talia a chance to get as close as possible to Orange without alerting the enemy.

One minute. Two. Three. Four. Five and the only noise were the woods still crackling from the fires and the low voices of Karen and Orange.

“One shot. One kill.” Frank looked at Gunner.

“Oorah.”

Stealthily moving, Frank and Gunner created a kill box. They opened fire. It was done before Karen and Rawlins ducked for cover.

Now it was up to Frank. He moved out from the security of the trees, weapon still up and aiming at a quicksilvered Rawlins.

“You’re all alone, asshole.”

Frank walked into the clearing. He knew the weapon was pointless against silver Rawlins, but maybe if he could infuriate the scumbag enough, it would give Talia and Bill their opening.

Rawlins turned to Karen. “Humans are so pedestrian.”

Frank only stopped when he was close enough to grab Karen.

Rawlins turned to Frank. “Did you really think that was _all_ I had?”

Noise from the cabin caught Frank’s attention. Carson Wolf walked out, eating an apple.

“He’s got a gun.”

“Homeland Security! Drop your weapons!”

They were swarmed by agents. Gunner walked into the clearing, hands in the air, followed by three agents. Bill, hands behind his head, and Talia came from the side ahead of their own pack of agents.

Frank closed his eyes and slowly released the assault rifle. Wolf came down the steps and took it from his hands.

“I was hoping you’d go for it. Suicide by agent would’ve been poetic, don’t you think?” Wolf sneered. “Don’t worry, plenty of ways that accidents can happen.”

They were _fucked._

 

 

 

Karen’s heart jumped to her throat the minute Frank had stepped into the clearing. He’d survived the firestarter unscathed. She’d _known_ that, had reached out to him and met that storm, alive and well, but only seeing him settled that nervous, fearful energy. And then the stupid jarhead made himself a target for a megalomaniac.

They were going to try for Rawlins. She’d been tempted to reach out to Talia but didn’t want to be a distraction for this mad plan. And then Carson Wolf stepped out of the cabin.

_Shit. Shit. Shit._

“This was never about the two of you,” Rawlins said, looking at Frank then Bill. “You were a mere nuisance that was hard to kill.” He turned to Karen. “I always step on the roaches.”

Karen wanted to hate him, and part of her still did. The Blacksmith had terrorized the Inhuman community he claimed he wanted to protect. She’d wanted to protect them too. Now she had doubts on how to do it.

_This was about us, and it_ _’s so much bigger than we could've imagined._

Talia stepped closer to Karen. _Us, us? Or us, STAKE?_

 _The Inhuman us._ Karen glanced at Frank and Bill. _They_ _’ve been exposed to the crystals._

“What?” Talia’s gaze snapped to Billy’s, and she moved, ignoring the jittery agents around them. Her hand came up to cup his cheek, looking deep into his eyes.

Alarm and horror swamped Karen. It was a rerun of her own terror. She met Frank’s questioning gaze but had no idea how to explain and wasn’t sure she’d have the time to do so.

Rawlins’ eyes pinged-ponged between Talia and Karen, then he smiled widely. “Telepathy. Excellent. No wonder you make such a formidable team. Your skills will be invaluable.”

_It_ _’s a conspiracy, and we’re caught in the middle of it._

Talia looked at Karen, then Rawlins. “We’ll do it.”

“Talia!” Billy reached out, but Talia moved out of reach.

Karen couldn’t meet Frank’s eyes because she knew where this was going, and she was going right along with it. It was the only way.

Billy made another move and got slammed with the butt of a rifle for his trouble. The agents behind Frank and Gunner took that as permission and forced both men to their knees. Weapons aimed at their heads. One twitchy finger and it would become a bloodbath.

Karen nodded at Talia. Yeah. _Do it._

“But they live,” Talia told Rawlins. “All three of them.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Wolf rolled his eyes, tossing the apple aside and pulling out his sidearm. “You can’t be serious.” He raised the weapon to Billy’s head.

“They live,” Talia’s voice was hard and dark, “or I will destroy everything. Every asset. Every plan. Every idea you hold dear.”

“That psycho bitch was right,” Wolf said. “You have an overly inflated opinion of yourself. Princess.” His lip twisted in a sneer, then he turned to Rawlins. “She’s bluffing.”

Silver-Rawlins took a step forward, an arm’s reach away from Talia. “And then what? You’ll kill me?”

“No,” Talia said. “I’d make you sit on a throne of ash.”

Rawlins glanced at the kneeling men. “Humans are not worth your loyalty.”

“They are not human if they’ve gone through Terrigenesis.”

_Karen, you can_ _’t tell Rawlins what they can do. Frank is a power source only a few can tap, but Bill is a universal donor. Rawlins will use them until there’s nothing left._

_It_ _’s bigger than you think. They’re manning up for a war. The war._

Rawlins turned to Karen, then looked at the men. “They’ve shown no signs. We figured they’d hadn’t been exposed long enough.”

“It’s a numbers game,” Karen said. “And we need a lot more on our side. No sense in wasting three.”

_Numbers game? Jesus, don_ _’t these assholes ever learn._

“Do you really think these,” Rawlins pinched silver lips, “stalwart _Marines_ would go against the establishment? Hell, they are the type to follow Rogers off a cliff, if asked.”

“They will for us.” Karen took a deep breath. She couldn’t look at Frank, afraid she’d see that truth in his eyes.

Rawlins stood motionless for precious seconds, then his lips curved up and he turned to Frank and Billy. “That, I did not see coming.” He squatted in front of Frank, studying him for a long moment. “It’s true, isn’t it. You’d go against everything you stand for, if she asks you to. Invaluable.” He stood up, the smugness rolling off of him was unbearable. “The two of you are _everything_ I’d thought you’d be and more.”

“No!” Carson moved around Bill to get a better line of sight on Frank. “They don’t get to live. Not after all the shit we’ve been through. All the men we’ve lost. You even lost that goddamn lizard. That bitch and the piglet. Chase! All that for those two?” He waved his weapon at Karen and Talia. “Fine. But these assholes die.” Wolf pointed his weapon at Billy.

_Talia!_

“SHIELD! Drop your weapons! Do it now!” Maria Hill marched out of the tree line, weapon raised. Seconds later the STRIKE team followed suit.

“Homeland Security!” Wolf looked at Hill, but his weapon remained too close to Billy’s head. “We’ve captured wanted felons with ties to a drug lord. SHIELD has no jurisdiction.”

“I won’t say it again.” Hill stopped, less than fifteen feet away from Wolf. Her weapon now trained center mass on him. Her head dipped as a Homeland agent trained his gun on her.

_Chaos always follows silence._

“He’s got a gun!”

The Homeland Security agents opened fire on the STRIKE team. And all hell broke loose.

Frank jumped up and used his body to shield Karen.

Hill turned and shot the agent that had been about to shoot her, leaving Wolf with an open shot to her back. He shot center mass, three times.

Carson Wolf gulped down air and opened his mouth, ready to unleash the shriek of a Banshee.

Billy spun on his knee and pushed off, coming up behind the Special Agent in Charge, snapping Wolf’s neck and cutting off the shriek before it could be released. Talia tackled Billy to the ground slamming a shield up as a torrent of bullets hailed on them.

_Do it now Karen!_

Karen took Frank by surprise as she got the upper hand and rolled over him because she could safely shield the two of them without getting shot. It had been so easy, second nature for that storm to feed Karen all the power she needed.

“Jarhead.”

Frank’s eyes were wild like that storm swirling around both of them. He was ready to pull her under him again, when he realized that a shield was protecting them from the torrent of bullets.

“I shield you,” Karen said, white on white eyes brimming with power.

Men were dropping all around them, some dead before they’d hit the ground. And this was the first time Karen Page was on top of Frank Castle. The universe really did hate her.

Rawlins made a dash for the inside of the cabin. Karen pulled Frank up, then bolted to the cabin trying to prevent the Blacksmith from escaping via the back.

_Talia! Rawlins. Go around. Get ready._

It didn’t matter what Rawlins had told her. Not the contingency plans, the experimentations, the possible threat to Inhumans. He couldn't get away. Couldn’t live to tell his co-conspirators that their plan was working.

Karen got to the back door of the cabin first, seeing the fleeing Rawlins hit the tree line. Frank grabbed her hand, forcing her to stutter to a stop, then pushed her back into the cabin as he sprinted into the lead.

Frank stopped. “How’s your plan now, scumbag!” He walked forward.

Rawlins turned back, silver face twisting in pure unadulterated rage.

“Come and get me you sorry piece of shit!”

Silver churned and twisted until foot-long metal spikes were shot out heading straight for Frank Castle.

 

 

Bill, knife at hand, turned to Talia. “Kiss for luck?”

Black on black eyes flashed. “You do this right, and I’ll give you a whole naked weekend.”

Bill’s smile was wide, showing teeth like the predator he was. “As far as incentives go, that’s a damn fine one.”

His hand whipped around the back of Talia’s head, pulling her to him. And he kissed her hard. Power flowing between them the whole time.

 

 

“You picked the wrong side, Karen,” Rawlins said. “The Rising is coming, and we shall rise.”

 

 

Karen’s hand slipped into Frank’s as she stepped in front positioning herself between him and those damn spikes.

_No!_

The world changed in the blink of an eye. Frank stumbled. They were back at the lake again. Frank looked down at his hand, still gripping Karen’s.

“Karen what are you doing? We can’t be here. You need to move. Get away.”

_I cannot let that happen to you. Please._

She turned that beautiful smile to him. “We can be here, now. And there, too.”

Frank cupped her cheek. “Sunshine, I don’t understand. I have to protect you. I _have_ to.”

The intensity of energy between them was palpable even for grunt like him. Blue-blue eyes turned white on white, overflowing with power. “I shield you, Marine. Don’t you forget that.”

 

 

The black on black power of the darkness kept the quicksilver metal from melding back together, forcing it apart. The white on white beauty of the light compelled…and _shielded._

 

 

Billy Russo was a city boy. Give him concrete and asphalt and diesel fumes and five-star hotels any day. He hated camping. Hated the woods, but especially these fucking woods. They’d have to pay him, a lot, to come back to Kentucky. He was getting out of these goddamned woods and get started on planning that naked weekend.

Only one thing stood in the way.

He threw his body into the attack. The force and speed of the blow allowed the Ka-Bar to slide smoothly into fragile human flesh, between the space of the vertebrae, severing arteries and ripping into the brain stem until it could go no further because the hilt hitting the neck stopped it.

Bill’s arm held Rawlins, pulling him closer. “Who’s the roach now?” Bill pulled the Ka-Bar out and let Rawlins crash into the ground.

He was debating stabbing Rawlins a few more times just to be sure, when a soft hand wrapped around the fisted hilt around the knife and held on. Talia’s other hand cupped his face, bringing it around to meet those killer green eyes.

God this woman was fucking gorgeous. And he couldn’t wait to get her naked again.

“Well earned weekend, pretty boy.”

Jesus. Fuck. He was going to marry this woman. He threw the knife aside, pulled her closer, mouth teasing those luscious lips until they opened up to him.

 

 

When the world snapped back into place, Rawlins was unmoving on the ground. Bill was kissing Talia. And blue-blue eyes were warily watching him.

Frank Castle wasn’t stupid. He’d felt that power swirling between them in the mind palace. She had siphoned his storm, that unseen but constant dark companion that had always been with him, the same way Talia had done and yet different because it hadn’t drained him.

The panic of knowing she was endangering herself, again, for him turned into rage, and that had only fueled the storm.

He knew she was right. She was much better equipped at protecting them with her shields. But knowing the truth didn’t change his instinct to protect. To protect _her._

And now she was looking at him, waiting for him to lose it as he had at the Lieberman’s. Frank muzzled that storm.

“I know you don’t need me to protect you,” he nodded, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying, sunshine.”

 

 

 

That wasn’t what she’d expected, not with the storm still raging all around them, but had anything turned out the way she’d expected? Not on this ride. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped closer to Frank.

This time it _was_ over. The Blacksmith was dead. She’d deal with ramifications of their little chat later. After a vacation with lots of wine.

“How about we take turns?” Her hand flattened against his chest.

Those expressive dark eyes peeked at her through long lashes and his lip crinkled up.

“We can do that.”

“You guys are the cutest,” Maria Hill said in a sickly-sweet voice.

Karen straightened and took a step back. Damn you universe.

“Do you have any,” Hill started in her normal icy tone, then did a double take, “Hey! Break it up.” Her eyes drifted to the body of Rawlins and then back to Karen. “Is that the disco ball?”

Karen’s eyes narrowed and turned as Talia and Billy strolled up to their group.

“It’s the Blacksmith,” Talia said.

Hill’s eyes widened and then snapped back to the body. “Are we going to have a problem or am I going to like this.”

Karen smiled. “Oh, you’re gonna like. A lot.”

Brock Rumlow walked up to them holding two thermoses. He tossed one at Talia and handed the other to Karen.  “Perimeter secured, ma’am.”

Hill nodded. “Did we kill all of Homeland Security?”

“Not all, ma’am. We started triage, some might actually make it.”

“I can work with that,” Hill said. “Secure the walking wounded, medevac to the Virginia facility.”

“Um,” Karen cringed, “there are bodies in the woods, as well, and talk to Gunner because there are traps all over the place.”

Rumlow and Hill stared, wide-eyed.

Karen shrugged. “We’ve been busy?”

“Do it,” Hill told Rumlow who nodded. “Do you have any idea the mess you’ve left—” She held up one finger, then tapped on her earpiece. “Micro, they are fine. Alive and well. Yes, all of them. You did good. Call in the clean-up crew. Hill out.” She pulled the earpiece out and nodded to the thermoses. “From Dr. Lieberman, she said you guys were going to need it.”

Hill’s eyes narrowed. “But you don’t look no worse for wear. Care to tell?” She studied Karen’s ungloved hands.

“I’m good,” Karen said wiggling her fingers, then looking at Talia. Both opened the thermoses and started drinking. Slowly.

_How much are we going to tell her?_

_Don_ _’t know. Still thinking._

“How did you find us?” Frank to the rescue.

Hill fixed a steady gaze on Castle who didn’t flinch. He was used to ball-busting commanding officers.

“Micro,” Hill finally said, “was following all feeds with any possible links to the Blacksmith and found the Homeland plans of this assault. He alerted us twenty-four hours ago, but we couldn’t move until they finalized the location which was,” she glanced at her watch, “ninety minutes ago.” She glanced over at the body again. “That really him? And he’s really dead?”

“Want me to stab him a couple more times?”

Hill sent Billy a scathing glare, then turned to Karen and Talia. “I expect a full report on my desk in four hours. Get checked my medical. Do we need to take any special precautions with the body?”

“Uh, no.” Karen looked at Talia who shrugged.

“Nope. Aren’t you gonna finish the ‘mess you’ve left’?”

Hill’s smile was cold and predatory. “Oh, I’m leaving that for Fury. He’s going to love what _you_ did to Central Park.”

“I had help.”

A strong gust of wind rattled the trees as a Quinjet flew overhead, looking for a place to land.

“You expecting company?” Hill looked from Talia to Karen.

_She doesn_ _’t know the team is off the grid?_

_I_ _’m not going to tell her._

They shrugged.

Hill shook her head. “You two,” she pointed at Frank and Billy, “get checked by medical, then we’ll take you back to New York.”

Frank and Billy looked at Karen. She knew they were wondering if these SHIELD agents were trustworthy. Now or never. Hill wasn’t Fury, but he trusted her.

“Their testimony and all evidence got scrubbed by the Blacksmith and the people on the take. And Homeland wasn’t the only affected agency.” She pointed to the corpse. “He’s CIA.”

Hill straightened. “And you think they could've infiltrated SHIELD?”

Karen didn’t want to admit it, but the chances were pretty high. This Rising, whatever it was, had a long reach.

“Okay,” Hill said, straightening, eyes drilling into Karen’s. “Am I trustworthy?”

Karen didn’t even hesitate to tap into Frank’s storm, not when his safety was at stake. Her eyes turned white on white as she scanned Hill and every member of the STRIKE team.

“That’s new,” Hills said.

Karen blinked, eyes returning blue. “Yes. She’s trustworthy.” Frank and Bill nodded.

“Check the—”

“They’re clear.”

Hill’s jaw tightened, then she turned to Frank. “Don’t go anywhere without alerting me and I will personally escort the two of you to New York.” She cocked a brow at Karen. “Good enough?”

Karen should be concerned with that tone. There was a wary suspicion under those words.

“Thank you.”

_This is going to be a problem, isn_ _’t it?_

_Only the tip of the iceberg. We need to talk about what Rawlins told me._

They walked through the cabin and out the front, and its controlled chaos of bodies in motion.

“Ma’am.” Rumlow came up to the porch carrying a tablet. “There’s a fire in this quadrant. We need to bring in the civilians before it spreads into a full-blown forest fire.”

Hill looked at the tablet, then up to Talia, a calculating expression blanketing her face. Talia’s mouth twisted in a wolfish smile as she walked off the porch.

One, two, three steps before turning to look over her shoulder, black on black eyes flashed. “What fire?” She headed towards the landing Quinjet.

“Holy shit.” Rumlow showed the tablet to Hill.

Karen was hit with a wave of smug pride, then a very clear, _Damn that ass!_

Billy’s lip slanted up, eyes never leaving Talia’s retreating back. “Atta girl.” Then he followed.

Karen didn’t need to put out feelers to know what Hill was analyzing the new threat. Both of them. It should be concerning.

_Let her try._

Karen smiled, turned to Frank and dipped her head before following Talia’s path.

 

The Quinjet managed to land on a relatively flat clearing over a ridge and fortunately out of range of Gunner’s traps. The cargo door slanted down, and Daisy strode out heading straight for them.

Talia got to Daisy first, throwing her arms around her teammate and holding on tight. Billy remained back a short distance.

“…I was picking out vamp bits off my hair for an hour.” Daisy turned as Karen walked up, saw the gloveless hands and threw her arms around Karen. “Knew you’d figure it out.”

“The vampires were a trap.” Karen squeezed tight. God, it was good to hug her friends again.

Daisy nodded. “By the time we figured that out, we were neck deep in bloodsuckers.” She threw her head back and groaned. “God, I hate Pacific Northwest bloodsuckers. They always smell of patchouli and,” she made a face, “granola.”

“We cleared out the nests yesterday and were on clean-up duty when we finally got a hold of Micro. We were too far away to get here on time.”

Daisy’s eyes studied Billy near Talia and Frank covering Karen’s six. A slow smile lit up her face. “You guys have all the fun.”

“What disaster are you bringing to my doorstep this time.” Maria Hill was not known for idle chit-chat.

“Right,” Daisy nodded, “we have a clan of wendigos terrorizing East Texas,” she looked at Karen and Talia, “and we’re no facing man-eating monsters without our team leaders.”

“Your talent of getting out of paperwork is legendary,” Hill said to Karen and Talia. “I expect that report on my desk four hours after you get back.”

And the universe is at it again. Karen bit her lip and turned to Frank. She had to go. One wendigo was bad, and a clan was a massacre waiting to happen.

Frank’s hand came half-way up before he realized what he was doing and dropped it.

“Go get ‘em, sunshine.” The universe was in those dark eyes, and Karen’s heart skipped a beat. “We’ll catch up when you get back.”

She wanted to kiss him. Screw Hill and the wendigos. They had survived a hit, snipers, a car crash, countless armed men trying to kill them, mind-controlling psycho teens, a damn alien lizard - at least, she thought it was alien - a pyromaniac, a goddamn Banshee, and the Blacksmith. It felt like a lifetime in a matter of days.

“I’ll see you around, Captain Castle.”

She had to step away because if she didn’t, there would be touching and that would lead to kissing, and they might never come back from the lake.

Talia grabbed Billy’s shirt and kissed him, hard.

“Hate to be that person, but, ah, East Texas?” Daisy started to fidget.

Right. Gotta keep the monsters at bay.

“Catch you later, pretty boy.” Talia’s hand raked across Billy’s jawline.

“You owe me a weekend, and I’m gonna hold you to that.”

Karen and Talia turned around and walked away.

“So, what’s new with you guys?” Daisy put her arms around Karen’s and Talia’s shoulders.

 

 

 


	13. All the Stars and Spaces in Between

 

 

10 days, 14 hours, 32 minutes and 35, 36, 37…seconds

 

“I wasn’t gone more than _three_ hours,” Nick Fury started, “before the two of you turned West Village and Hell’s Kitchen into shooting galleries, transformed Central Park into a chum bucket of electrocuted lizard parts, caused a biohazard  nightmare in Irvington, then had the _nerve_ to go all Hatfield and McCoys in Kentucky.” He glared at Karen and Talia sitting on the chairs across from his desk. “Your body count is higher than Loki’s.”

 _All things considered, that wasn_ _’t that bad._

“All of that happened over almost a week. And we had help.” Talia shrugged. “That’s an ambitious afternoon for the God of Mischief. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

_But you always try to make things worse._

“Do not speak,” Fury growled. “I should fire both of you. Hell, I should arrest and put you in a hole so deep you won’t see the light of day for the rest of your lives.”

 _Talia! Don_ _’t!_

“I can control various substances that make up common bedrock. Geokinesis.” Green eyes glittered with feigned innocence.

Fury’s head dipped to the side, lips thinning into a non-existent line. “I am _this close_ sending you back to your sister and deporting that damn bulldog.”

 

 

Four days. It had taken the STAKE team four long, exhausting, gore-filled days to exterminate the wendigo clan. They’d managed to do it without any further civilian casualty, and that was a win in Karen’s book. But that made it over ninety-six hours where, if they weren’t fighting for their lives or the lives of civilians, Karen and Talia were thinking about the personal repercussions of their little adventure with their Marines. Luckily for them, there was a lot of fighting with almost no downtime. Wendigos are a total pain in the ass.

Turns out fighting supernatural beings is a lot harder when you can’t tap into axillary power sources. Oh, Karen and Talia were in top form, but nowhere near the Avenger candidate quality they’d been during the previous battles.

It had been a sobering experience since both of them realized how dependent they’d become on the talents of Frank and Bill. Which was why neither could talk about it or bring themselves to reach out to the Marines.

Karen had kept track of the fall-out. Had inhaled every nugget of information, read through the incoming reports and the secret testimony. It had been decided that the families of the deceased soldiers had been through enough and revealing the story to the public would just reopen old wounds. Everything got swept up and buried under a ‘Secret’ stamp.

Two U.S. Senators suddenly ‘retired’  due to illnesses and family considerations. One general, two colonels and a major - not counting the very dead Schoonover - and several enlisted servicemen were quietly arrested, court-martialed and imprisoned in a matter of days. Karen wasn’t sure about the legality of such speedy trials, but it was subjected under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and civilians had little say on that.

Turned out when SHIELD supervised the investigation, both the military and civilian justice system moved at an accelerated pace.

And Karen couldn't bring herself to contact Frank.

She’d been an agent for too long to not recognize that missions were pockets of intense emotion. Relationships that were built around that, they never work. The rush always peters out, and you’re left with something that was never meant to exist, much less succeed.

But there was still an ache, deep in her heart, that was being felt down to the bones, and she couldn’t shake it. She sought counsel - the astral kind.

 _I don_ _’t believe in soulmates. Not the romantic kind. It’s not the same. I have Talia._

Soulmates were just a pretty fairy tale. She wasn’t going to change her mind about that.

_The bonds we forge, regardless of what you call them, are always true. What are you afraid of Karen?_

Life.

 _That it wasn_ _’t real, just a matter of circumstance._

 _That_ _’s not what you're afraid of._

God, she hated when the Ancient One did that.

_That the universe is taking a choice away from me._

It made her feel like that helpless thirteen-year-old lost in circumstances beyond her control.

 _You_ _’re not being truthful._

No. She wasn’t.

 _A broken heart!_ Came out as a strangled sob, even in the astral plane.

_That is a part, not the whole._

_Of failure._

That sounded small and fearful, even to her own ears. But she couldn’t let go of the doubt.

 _I_ _’ve born witness to so much pain and heartache. And this man…he has the power to rip out my heart, tear it and destroy it. I don’t think I can come back from that._

The Ancient One closed her eyes, a melancholy tilt of her lips.

 _The people that can hurt you are the ones close enough to do it. Despite the pain, they are the ones that make a difference. That give meaning and purpose. They are the ones you hold on to with_ _…two hands. And never let go._

 _Karen, we are all made of stars. Why do we fall, if not to get up again? The light leads the path_ _…_ The Ancient One turned to Karen and waited.

Karen thought of Frank’s storm.

_But the darkness shows the stars._

Karen didn’t try to contact Frank Castle and take him up on that dinner. Five days.

 

In a surprise to everyone but Karen and Talia, Karen’s Reaper Skin faded back into darkness. No more knocking people out by accident. No possibility of manslaughter. It was as if it had never existed in the first place.

 _It_ _’s still in me. I know how to call for it._

_We figured it out, Kare._

Now they had to decide what to do with it.

Everyone welcomed the return of a non-reaper Karen. Jemma wouldn’t stop hugging her. Neither did Daisy. Fitz patted her hand if she was within arms distance and Mack had hugged her so tight her ribs ached from all the love. Other co-workers caught on and she’d been inundated with hugs and handshakes and congratulations. Even Jack Rollins stopped her on a hallway and hugged her.

Weird. And perfect.

She still didn’t call Frank. Six Days.

Karen was back to her old self, for the most part.

Talia wasn’t.

When they returned from the wendigo, Talia had withdrawn, becoming irritable and snappish. There were no wisecracks, no flippant remarks or inappropriate comments. Within forty-eight hours people noticed, at seventy-two everyone began to worry.

Sarah and Jemma said it was a temporary side effect of going full nuclear so many times in such a short period of time including against the wendigos. It was not unexpected. Karen didn’t have to read them to know that they were worried. After four days of countless banana bags and pick-me-ups, Talia’s scans were still ‘off.’

She started losing control of her powers.

_Do you need Billy?_

_If I can_ _’t control this on my own, I can’t be anywhere near him. Kare, I can’t— can’t_ need _him in order to control this._

 _You got this. I know you do._ Seven Days.

Then Talia lashed out, sending Steve Rogers flying across a room and crashing - hard - into a wall. Anyone else would've been seriously injured. Steve was only worried and just a bit confused. Talia stormed out of headquarters, leaving a wave a panic and horror behind to slam into Karen. Talia went off the grid. Full ghost town. Even Karen couldn’t find her and she tried. Hours passed and then more. Karen’s concern mounted.

“I found her.”

It took Karen twenty-six minutes to reach an Avengers compound. Normally, the drive should have taken forty.

“Thanks, Buck.”

Barnes nodded. “Yup.” Then he led Karen to one of the sub-basement gyms were Talia was ‘sparing’ with Natasha Romanoff.

By the time Karen entered one of the sub-basement gyms, the sparing had turned into a fight that was well on its way to becoming an out and out brawl. They were in workout clothes, hands wrapped for protection, but they weren’t holding back.

“Said something about physical release to allow the mind to focus.” Talia got kicked on the stomach and went flying backward. “I recommended a different type of physical release.” He turned to Karen. “That usually gets me a proposition, if not a wicked grin. I got neither. Fix her.” The fighting got more savage. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Karen reached out and squeezed his arm. At this point, she was ready to go to Medusa for help and if she did that Talia would never forgive her.

In a short time, an audience, including half of the Avengers squad, assembled to watch the match of two highly skilled combatants. Talia’s powers never materialized, not even accidentally. It was all about fists and kicks. And blood.

It got so vicious that Steve tried to stop it twice, only to be yelled at by both Natasha and Talia. No one else was brave enough. It finally ended with both women on their backs, breathing heavy, bruised and bleeding.

“That was impressive,” Bucky said.

Men.

Karen stomped to the mats, avoiding the puddles of blood.

“Feel better?” Natasha, the right side of her face looking like it had hit a hard surface multiple times - it had been smashed into the mats on three separate occasions - had a two-inch gash on her brow, a bruised jaw, and what had to be countless other contusions, snapped one of her broken fingers into place and looked at Talia.

Talia rubbed her ribs and grimaced as she went on her elbows. She had a black eye that was already darkening, a broken nose, split lips - top and bottom - and an ankle that was starting to swell. Her body was about to have its own rainbow parade in a few hours.

“Yeah. Much. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

“Want to get a drink?”

Natasha shrugged, grimaced, then nodded. “Sure.”

“Seriously?” Karen’s hands itched to wrap around Talia’s neck, but there were already blossoming fingerprints there, too.  “Couldn’t we have skipped the puddles of blood and trip to the infirmary and gone straight for the liquor?”

Natasha and Talia looked at each other, then back to Karen. “Wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

It had taken Talia eight days and an out and out brawl to get back to her new normal.

Karen still didn’t call Frank. Eight days. Nine by the time they started drinking.

“So what are we going to do about the Rising?” Talia brought the bottle of wine to her lips, flinched, then drank.

Natasha was long gone, and it was back to just Karen and Talia. Karen hadn’t graduated to drinking straight out of the bottle. Yet.

“They didn’t mention it in their reports.”

In all of the reports and testimony, Karen had read with a fine tooth comb, neither Frank nor Billy had even hinted of an Inhuman conspiracy. Everything had been neatly wrapped up under William Rawlins being just an Inhuman drug lord.

“Neither did we.”

The wendigo situation allowed them to postpone their report on the Blacksmith case. But it had bought only so much time. In the end, their official report had no mention of The Rising.

“They are RTD.” Talia sipped her bottle.

Return to duty. Captains Frank Castle and William Russo had done what honor demanded, and their country and the USMC thanked and awarded them the Marine Corps Medal for heroism and gallantry of service. There had been talks of something bigger, but it had been decided that it would be inappropriate for combat on domestic soil and since the whole incident had been classified as Secret hard to justify.

Karen didn’t know if they’d be returning to Kandahar or some other special regiment. Couldn’t bring herself to ask and as each day passed, it became harder to reach out and check in.

And it wasn’t like Frank and Billy didn’t know where they were. Karen’s phone wasn’t overflowing with ignored messages.

“They didn’t mention the crystals either.”

That, however, _had_ been on the official STAKE report. The one marked Top Secret, Level Six and above. SHIELD had found the tainted morphine and the companies that had provided it had mysteriously closed overnight, before they could be raided, leaving behind nothing but empty buildings.

The Cerberus Squad, including those now in prison, were tested and, although blood work came back positive for Terrigenesis, none of them showed any signs of Inhuman abilities. The official SHIELD report concluded that the experimentation had failed. After all, what was the point of being Inhuman without a power skill set?

Karen and Talia knew better. Those that survived had something that the morphine-laced crystals found useful and modified. It just wasn’t obvious, at least to the SHIELD investigators, what Pandora’s Box Terrigenesis had opened.

It didn’t mean STAKE couldn’t investigate further, which was why Karen and Talia were going to visit the prison holding the remaining Cerberus Squad members.

“He’s like me,” Talia said.

Karen’s brows bunched. She knew the _he_ but not how Frank Castle was like Talia Amaquelin. “He’s an Elementalist?” Frank had shown no signs of being able to do that.

“A killer.” Talia took a long drink. “Before you came along, I was well on the road to psycho killerdom. Even Fury knew it. Then little Miss Sunshine,” she looked pointedly at Karen who made a rude noise, “took the psycho out of killer. My hero.”

Talia had been prickly, but far from a psycho killer in training to Karen. Can’t be a full-on serial killer _and_ have a designer shoe fetish. Not in Karen’s book. And they were fabulous shoes.

“Frank is not some psycho murderer.”

The images of Kandahar of how Frank had killed all those men practically single-handedly, sprang to mind. It had been something he had to do, not something he wanted to do. Just happened to be very good at it.

“I’m just saying, that storm wasn’t the crystals. I think it was always there, like some sort of shade built from rage and pain. The Terrigenesis just gave it a bit more life. But under different circumstances,” Talia shrugged, “I can see him getting lost in that void.”

Yeah. So could Karen. Her heart broke for that other Frank Castle.

“You should call him.”

A  soft huff escaped Karen’s lips. “Phone works both ways.” The wine glass became a lifeline. “I don’t like the feeling of inevitability. That we didn’t make a conscious choice to build _any_ connection, so the universe just created one because it’s an asshole.”

“What did the AO say?”

_The bonds we forge are always true._

_God, I hate it when she does that. One plus one?_ _‘What answer are you looking for, Talia?’_

Karen covered up a snort, and Talia smiled.

“I can’t make myself take that risk.” It was easier to smother, put it in a box, and ignore the ache, than fix it.

“Why do we fall, Karen?”

Karen’s eyes narrowed, then she shrugged and looked away. “It doesn’t matter, and you sound just like her.”

“Kare.”

“We’re failing the Bechdel test again.”

Talia punched Karen in the arm. “I’m not going anywhere. And if the Castle thing blows up in your face, I’ll help you tape the pieces back together with wine and cake.” Green eyes flashed with mischief. “And then we can key his car and tepee his house.”

Bright, cheery laughter burst out of Karen. “What are you? Twelve?” Karen reached out and grabbed Talia’s hand. “Besides, I have you.”

Talia laughed. “I _am_ awesome! But you don’t _ache_ for me.”

God. Was she that obvious? Pinning and yearning? Karen refused to believe that and didn’t want to talk about it.

“I’m surprised Billy has called.”

Talia looked away, unable to meet Karen’s eyes.

“He did? Why didn’t you say something? Why don’t you talk to him?”

“You know why. I can’t- I—” Talia took a long drink. “The man is the energy equivalent to a walking chocolate waterfall, and you know I feel about chocolate. He’s more addicting than any portal of power.”

Karen understood. In a weird way, she missed Frank’s storm. Not because of the power jolt it gave her, there was some of that, but also because it was a part of him she _knew_ he would’ve tried to hide from her and she would've been left wondering about the incompleteness of it all. There was no hiding anymore. They knew exactly what the other was capable of and willing to do. There was only truth now. The storm was so different than him and yet, also the same. Maybe just a different flavor. So easy, so natural to get used to having them around.

_So the multiverse is real?_

_Reality, Karen, is in the eye of the beholder. What is real for you, is a dream for another._

_Or a nightmare._

She’d been such a cheery teenager. But now Karen couldn’t help but wonder about a Frank Castle that only knew the storm and no peace.

“Right. Billy is just a pretty face anyway. Why don’t you hook up with Rumlow again?”

Green eyes snapped to her, then danced away. There was a definite pout on her lips.

“Thought about it.”

Karen smiled. “But you didn’t. Talia, hey, look at me.” She tugged until Talia turned. “It’s okay to like him. You did from the start.” She cupped Talia’s hand. “More than just liked him.”

“Only because he was pretty.”

“And he wasn’t scared of you at all. Not even a little bit. If it were just about the energy, you would've just banged him for twenty-four hours straight and moved on.”

There was a wave of heartbreaking pain, gnawing hunger, and paralyzing fear. “I’ll talk to Billy if you call Frank.”

Karen let go of Talia’s hand and picked up the wine, hiding behind it. “Why is it that we can face man-eating monsters and inter-dimensional demons, but when it comes to talking to cute Marines we chicken out?”

“Because the sex was awesome.” Karen made a strangled sound. “Oh, I can’t believe you didn’t even kiss him. And the palace doesn’t count.”

“Does too.” It was a damn good kiss.

“Did you bang in the palace?”

She would have seriously considered it. “No.” Karen blinked and turned sharply to Talia. “We haven’t talked about the fissures.”

Wow, she was an asshole for taking so long to remember. She’d been a little distracted but still. Talia ducked her head.

“Gone.”

Karen’s eyes widened. “Completely? When?”

Talia actually turned a shade of pink. That was new. “The cabin.”

 _Oh_. “You mean the cabin sex.”

“I hadn’t paid attention until the walk back. They’d started to lighten. That’s why I needed space. And then…spider ham.”

Karen cringed when the image slammed into her mind. “Please stop. I'm going to have nightmares for a week.

Talia had mentioned Malice, or more what she’d done to the woman. Karen couldn’t condone the darkness, but all things considered, she would have killed that bitch, too.

“Fury comes back tomorrow.”

Yeah. That was not going to be fun.

 

 

 

Fury leaned back on his chair. “You took down the Blacksmith. And his inhuman hit squads. Freed countless of innocents caught up in his mad plan. It was a trap, and you still ended it.”

“We had help.” Karen bit back a smile.

 _See? It_ _’s good to say it._

Fury’s eyes narrowed. “Well, you and your _help_ have taken down two senators, several top brass military officers, and a very dark, very dirty part of the CIA.”

_He should be throwing us a party for getting rid of Ori._

_Does he look like a cake type of guy?_

Fury’s eye darted away, and he scratched his nose. “When I put this in motion, never thought you’d be without your team.”

_That almost sounded like an apology._

_Shh! I don_ _’t feel like getting struck by lightning._

“Your team handled a solo mission without their mama bears and did a stellar job. You trained them well. Be proud.”

Pride, confidence and downright glee burst in Karen’s chest. “We are.”

_Hells yeah we are._

“About the Rising,” Fury leaned back on his chair, “find anything else?”

It hadn’t been in their _official_ report. But Karen and Talia had decided to take a chance on Fury. Besides, that man was bound to find out about it sooner rather than later, and they’d be screwed if he had reason to doubt them.

“Haven't had enough time to dig deep, but right now, they’re ghosts.”

Karen had used all of the easy channels of information and had come up blank. It hadn’t really surprised her. Secret organizations don’t last long in the light. Now the real work, the dirty, dangerous kind would begin. Problem was the Rising would see them coming.

“All we have is the word of a dead megalomaniac,” Talia said. “Maybe he was exaggerating?”

“You really believe that?” Fury looked at Talia, a huff of frustration escaped her mouth. “Yeah, didn’t think so.” He turned to Karen. “Any headway on the infiltration angle?”

Karen shook her head. “It’s slow going. I can’t just punch into a person’s mind without alerting them, and that would defeat the purpose.” Her mouth snapped shut.

“What?”

“If I were a secret organization whose intent was to take over the world by infiltrating a militaristic counter-intelligence juggernaut that employs super-powered individuals, I’d make sure none of my operatives got anywhere near the telepath.”

Fury let out a derisive snort. “That just makes them smart and harder to catch. They were in the CIA, Homeland, and the New York Justice System. If they’re not in SHIELD, they will be, so you two need to make that your number one priority. Find the rats in my ship.”

They were working on a plan for that.

“How bad was Irvington?”

Karen looked sideways at Talia.

 _What? I_ _’m curious._

Fury leaned back again. “Not Gravitonium bad, but GraviMicron is also a problem.”

Karen blinked.

 _Oh no, he didn_ _’t!_

“GraviMicron?”

Fury blew out an amused soft huff. “Apparently if you find it, you get to name it, and since the bad guys won’t get the credit, then Lieberman does. And I’m not even going to complain about another lost drone.”

Fury looked at them for a long second. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

_Hill._

_Not like that was a surprise. She probably has a recording of everything._

“You think I don’t know you’re talking to each other trying to come up with a story? Do I look stupid to you?” He immediately turned and pointed at Talia. “Do _not_ say anything about primitive humans or I will send you back to your sister.”

“Do you want us to make an official report?” Karen quirked a brow and Fury just glared, then pulled out a device from a drawer in his desk.

He looked up. “I expect a report on my desk by the end of the day.” Then he tapped on the device. “No. Make something up, but I want to know if my arsenal has new weapons.”

Karen looked at Talia who nodded. “We are stronger. The nuclear power pushes are more organic now and less stressful.” She bit her lip.

_How much do I say about Frank and Billy?_

“We did what we did,” Talia started, “with help.” She paused and took a deep breath. “If you’re looking to replicate that power expenditure, we’ll need to get the band back together to see if it’s even possible.”

Fury nodded and tapped on the device again. “Your team is a finely tuned machine, and I think it’s time to expand it. I have new recruits reporting today.” He looked at his watch. “Should be there already.”

_What the fuck?_

“You just said we are a finely tuned machine, and you’re adding new cogs without talking to us first?”

Fury’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to tell me how to do _my_ job _Agent_ Amaquelin?”

Talia opened her mouth. “No,” Karen chimed in, “she’s not. However, our team was selected for balance, and we’ve worked together for over three years now. Throwing new recruits will lower our peak performance level and decrease our effectiveness in the near future.”

Fury just tilted his head. “Well then, it’s your job to ensure the rookies don’t get their heads chewed off on their first mission, isn’t it?”

He was purposely sending her a wave of _I'm the boss, and you do what I say or else._ There was no reasoning with the man, or any man, when they dug in their heels like that.

“Now get out of my office before I send you back to San Francisco.”

“San Francisco wasn’t _all_ bad.” Talia didn’t try very hard to hide the self-satisfied smirk.

 _How is that even anatomically possible? Don_ _’t answer that!_

Fury glared. “Do I even want to know?”

“No,” Karen cut in, “don’t ask or she _will_ tell you.”

 _I totally would, too._ Talia leaned back on the chair, defying the laws of physics.

Karen didn’t doubt it, that’s why her hands were covering her eyes and trying to hide the smile that would not be appreciated by Fury.

“What are the two of you still doing in my office?”

Karen and Talia jumped up and headed out.

“And take that damn cat with you!”

 

They started walking to the elevators. Karen shook her head the whole way.

“Libertine.”

Talia’s smile was wide - she cringed when the split skin stretched too far - and bright. And so good to see. “Snow White.”

Karen touched Talia’s arm. “I forgot something. Gimme a sec.”

Talia quirked a brow but nodded.

Karen headed back to Fury’s office, opening the door without knocking. His brows shot up at the insolence. Karen closed the door behind her and pointedly look at Fury’s scrambling device. He obliged by turning it on.

“I don’t know what _your_ contingency plans for Inhumans in general or us in particular are, but you won’t like what happens to anyone you send after my team.”

Fury leaned back and studied Karen for several long seconds. Those all-knowing eyes of his analyzed and calculated. “I won’t like it when you’re angry, Agent Page?”

He just had to say those particular words, didn’t he?

“Don’t give me a reason to be angry.”

She stood her ground because he needed to know she meant it.

“Don't give me a reason to go after your team.”

They held each other’s gaze. Karen knew the risk she was taking by alerting Fury that she was aware of the contingency plans and that she’d put her team ahead of SHIELD, but she was banking on Fury’s sense of loyalty and the concept of SHIELD itself.

Karen nodded and turned to leave.

“Page.” She looked over her shoulder. “Find the rats.” Oh, she had every intention of doing so.

 

“So how did he take it?”

Karen shook her head. “I think he saw it coming.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. How about we ditch the rookies with Daisy? It will give her valuable experience.”

“You just don’t want to deal with them do you?”

“Nope.”

They got into the elevator and headed down in comfortable silence.

Karen sighed. “Okay, how did that actually work? ‘Cuz both of you? At the same time?”

 

 

“Maybe we can ditch the rookies with STRIKE?”

They heard the voices from down the hallway. Karen and Talia just looked at each other. Their team was a close-knit group. Other than Jemma, none of them were overly friendly in the first meeting. But the excitement was palpable, and laughter rang out.

“Do we have to?” Talia’s shoulders drooped.

“Have someplace better to be?”

Fitz turned and saw them. “Here they are.” He got up and walked over. “Was it awful? Do you still have jobs?” He really needed to work on his whispering. “Do we still have jobs?”

“We’re fine Fitz,” Karen said. “Everything is fine. Don’t even have to go back to Purgatory for a while.”

“Great! Come see the rookies.” He grabbed Karen’s hand and pulled.

Karen just looked over her shoulder at Talia who shrugged.

It hit her like an overexcited puppy, all tail wagging jumping about wanting attention. Karen had to take a bit of a step back. It was a bit much, especially when she wasn’t expecting it. When she opened her eyes, she saw _him._

Frank was sitting on the edge of a desk surrounded by Jemma, Mack, Daisy, and Trip. Lance, Elena, and Joey sat close to Billy who was leaning so far back on the chair, Karen was sure it would tip backward. It didn’t.

_Goddamn Fury! He did this on purpose._

Karen bit her lip. _You think?_

The silence in the room was deafening. Thick tension accumulating with each passing second.

Billy got up from the chair and strolled up to Talia. His eyes taking in the bruises and split lip. Talia lifted her chin up as if daring him to say something about her face.

Ever so gently, Bill brushed a strand of hair away from Talia’s face. “Princess.” Green eyes flashed, the split lips knitted themselves back until there was no trace of any injury. The bruises faded until her skin was unmarred.

There was a gasp, Jemma. Nervous fidgeting by all the men and Elena. And then there was Daisy. Just gloating.

There was a smug slant to Billy’s lips like he’d known exactly what was going to happen. “You owe me a weekend.”

Karen got hit with…sunshine. It was bright and beautiful and so damn strong she actually blinked.

“Pret-” Talia’s words were cut off as Bill kissed her and kept kissing until two arms wrapped around him tight and held on.

Their team, who would never leave anyone behind in any circumstance, had fought demons and vampires and man-eating monsters, mumbled excuses and scattered faster than a flock of chickens. Karen had never seen them move so fast unless free food was involved.

“Hello, sunshine.”

In a snap and a flash, they were back at the lake. She’d tried, she really had talked herself into believing it was just one of those fleeting moments in a lifetime. And as long as he wasn’t standing in front of her, it was almost true.

 _Real emotion, the lasting kind, doesn_ _’t just go away. You can choose to ignore, but you can’t deny it, not forever._

Karen looked at Frank’s hand. “You bought me flowers?”

He shrugged. “I’m an old-fashioned kinda guy.” He looked around. “Not sure where to put them, though.”

A table and vase appeared next to him. He tried to hide the amused huff.

“Keep forgetting.” He put the flowers in the vase and turned back to Karen. “How much time do we have?”

Karen couldn’t hide her smile. “We can make time.”

“You didn’t call.” There was no reproach in his tone.

Karen realized how ridiculous she’d been. “Neither did you.”

“Thought you needed some space. Was I wrong?”

Karen looked at her feet, then back up. “No. We needed the time.”

Frank walked to her until they were standing toe to toe. His hand came up, capturing a lock of her hair. “Hello, sunshine.”

“Hello, Frank.”

His lips were soft and full, almost hesitant over hers, but when her hands cupped his face to bring him closer, there was no indecision. His arms, both hands sure and confident, came around her tightly and there was no letting go. His mouth was hot and hungry, nipping and tasting and just savoring each moment. That storm that swirled around them, even in the mind palace, dissipated into both of them.

_The flicker of the storm inside of me._

All Karen felt was warmth and perfect comfort. It was home.

_It was always you._

Karen was sitting on his lap, her foot dipping in the water. They had the time, just not an eternity and if they’d kept kissing, well…

“When did Fury recruit you?” He’d been in Geneva up until ten hours ago.

Frank chuckled. “About twenty-four hours after we got to New York, Hill set up a conference call. That was after she’d grilled us for a good three hours.”

Karen straightened. “Wait, so you’ve known for - what? - over a week that you were going to join our team? What about the Corps?

“Indefinite special assignment,” he said. “Even got a promotion.”

Karen’s finger dug into the back of Frank’s head, and his eyes drifted shut in contentment.

“Major Castle, like the sound of that.”

“That right, sunshine?”

There was no more denying on her part. She wasn’t going to put a label on their connection, but it had one. In every universe.

“Wait. Who do you report to?”

Frank opened his eyes, and there was an undeniable hint of roguishness in those dark brown depths. “I believe that I report directly to you, ma’am. That a problem? Rules about fraternization in the line of command?”

Yeah. “We’re going to be breaking that rule.”

_Many are the stars I see, but in my eye, no star like thee._

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title and a couple of the italicized lines come from the song, _Many Are the Stars I See, But in My Eye No Stars Like Thee_ by Ursine Vulpine & Annaca


	14. Epi-Indulgent-Fluffy-logue

 

It took less than five minutes for the STAKE team to know Article 134, the no fraternization rule within a chain of command, was going to be considered a suggestion rather than a rule to be followed. Fury already knew. Because of course, he did.

 

Karen and Frank had their first official date less than twenty-four hours later. It started with coffee - _not_ Black Insomnia. Became a picnic at the park - _not_ Central. Turned into dinner at Lombardi’s and a walk home holding hands the whole way to Karen’s front door.

“This is your little townhouse?” Frank looked up at the tall building. “Does your whole team live in a five-story building?”

Karen cringed. “Six. And no.” She couldn’t meet his eyes. “Just me and Talia.”

“Just the two of you?” He looked back up and even in the evening light, it was obvious what type of townhouse it was. That ridiculously expensive kind.

She nodded, knowing exactly what the no-nonsense Marine from Hell’s Kitchen was thinking. He wasn’t _wrong_ per se. “We, um, know people?” It wasn’t a lie. His brow inched up. “SHIELD pays very well?” Which was also true. Just not _that_ well. Now was probably not the right time to mention that they’d bought the building, rather than just rented it. Being best friends with royalty, even the alien kind, had its privileges.

“That right?” His knuckles grazed her cheek, and those deep brown eyes softened…and promised.

They’d been dancing around this the whole day. Both knowing where it would end, but _waiting_ _…torturing_ each other with the inevitability.

His hand cupped her face, and he leaned in, their breaths mingling. Frank _finally_ kissed Karen, in the real world, on the alcove of her front door. His lips were soft against hers, gentle, almost hesitant…and electric. The power between them exploded, brighter than any supernova and Karen understood what Talia had meant.

It was more than just power. It was the whole damn universe.

_I will come for you._

His mouth slanted over hers, nipping and tasting - savoring. Karen swayed into him, and Frank dug his fingers through her hair, gripping just tight enough to elicit a gasp. Her mouth opened to his and that was the only invitation he needed. His tongue swiped and controlled, licked and relished, delighting in the new, old, perfect _love._

She didn’t just see the stars or a universe. Karen saw _all_ of them. It was brief and timeless. And in just about all of them, it was Frank _and_ Karen. Together. Even if only for a few fleeting moments. But they were together circling each other like stars, sometimes colliding, sometimes just barely missing each other. That storm was also constant, and sometimes not only his.

It was more than just destiny. It was written in the stars.

_Every version of me, loves every version of you._

One kiss wasn’t enough. A lifetime wouldn’t be.

_I_ _’ll love you for the rest of my life, and if there’s a life after that, I will love you then._

They pulled apart, trying to catch their breaths. She saw her future in those deep brown eyes. Their future and it was perfect. Everything aligned as if they were fixing a wrong from another universe.

Karen stepped out of Frank’s embrace. He was too much of a gentleman to invite himself in, and she was done waiting, so she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the door, leading him inside.

He wasn’t going to say no, he wasn't a fucking saint.

They kissed all the way up one set of stairs and another, this time dodging obstacles - Talia’s hastily discarded clothes. Pants, jacket, shirt, bra. There was actually a lot of clothes. Way too many to be just from one person. Frank tripped over an unmistakable man’s boot and frowned.

“Are you telling me you didn’t see that coming?” Karen smiled and pulled him up one more flight of stairs to her room. Which was on a completely different floor than Talia’s. No possible way they could hear anything coming out of her room. Not Talia.

Certainly not Bill.

And the best thing was, they couldn’t be heard, either.

Karen and Frank didn’t see Bill and Talia for about thirty-six hours. The only sign of life was…

_Food in the kitchen. Chinese and enough Thai that we don_ _’t have to leave the house for the long weekend._

Forty-eight hours after that, Talia and Karen ended up with new roommates. The permanent kind. Who never asked about the shrine to shoes as long as they had their own room for guns. And it turned out that the four of them living together, albeit in a large townhouse, worked really well for everyone.

Frank cooked and enjoyed it. Bill ordered take-out, could always find the _best_ food at two am. It was a gift. They had a service to clean because no one wanted to do that.

Karen and Talia? Well, they were just awesome all around, and Frank and Bill recognized that and thanked their lucky stars. Also, the sex _really_ rocked!

 

Five days after that, Frank and Bill followed Karen and Talia into their first vampire nest. It was freaky and gross, but they got the hang of it in no time at all. The same thing couldn’t be said about ghouls. They never got used to those assholes, especially the West Coast ones.

They also _never_ made it to San Francisco, which all things considered, was a good thing. Although, Talia did occasionally wonder… _what if_?

Frank and Bill took to STAKE like they were born to kill extranormality fiends. It was the most natural transition the whole team had ever seen. So much so, that within a week it was as if they’d had always been part of the team. There was only one little problem eating away at Jemma Simmons.

“What Jem?” Fitz sighed. “Just out with it or I’ll never get this done.”

“Frank and Billy are really nice.”

It was true. They were nice for brawny Marines. “Yes.”

“And I really like them.” Jemma bit her lip.

“Yes?” Silence. Fitz put down the tablet. “But? Out with it Jem.”

Jemma glanced around the lab, then whispered. “What’s going to happen when Billy runs into Brock Rumlow?”

“They already did.” Fitz’s face twisted in confusion. “Rumlow was part of that team in Kentucky.”

Jemma rolled her eyes. “Yes, but that was before they _knew_ about each other.”

For such an intelligent man, sometimes Fitz was a little slow. He opened his mouth, then shut it.

“See! I knew I was right to be worried.”

Fitz was silent for a few minutes, then nodded. “Broken bones,” he finally said. “A lot of broken bones.”

“Really?” Jemma’s head tilted to the side. “I was just thinking some quality time in the infirmary and maybe stitches.”

“No way, Jem, that’s too easy.”

“What’s too easy?” Mack and Frank walk into the lab. After the initial, _huh_ , they’d gotten along like a gooey fluffernutter sandwich. The team was still trying to figure out which one was the softest marshmallow.

“What’s going to happen,” Jemma said, “when Billy meets Brock Rumlow.”

Mack rocked back on his heels and nodded slowly.

Fitz blinked. “They even have the same initials. Billy Russo. Brock Rumlow. She has a thing for B’s and R’s.”

Jemma smacked Fitz’s shoulder. “I say a trip to infirmary and stitches.”

“I think more like broken bones,” Fitz said. “Lots of them.”

Mack crossed his massive arms. “That’s easy, Rumlow will kick Billy’s ass.”

“Woah, there, brother,” Frank said. “I know you don’t know us very well, but you’ve never seen Bill fight when something important is on the line. It will be ugly and dirty, and Bill will win.”

“You don’t know Rumlow.”

“You don’t know Bill.”

Mack’s eyes narrowed. “Wanna put some money on your friend?”

“One hundred?” Frank’s eyes glinted.

“Done.” They shook on it.

“Wait, we want in.” Jemma picked up a notebook and started scribbling. “But I say infirmary.”

“I’ll stick with broken bones.”

Tripp went in with both would get their asses knocked down by Talia if they any started shit.

Daisy didn’t bet, but she did pull Talia aside and told her what she thought _should_ happen.

And they laughed. And laughed.

“I’m never going to be able to eat a brisket sandwich again,” said a beat red Karen.

They laughed even harder.

The other members of the team joined in on the betting pool. So did Maria Hill and Nick Fury.

They found out the winner on day fifteen.

Bill was reading _Ghouls, Zombies and the Undead: Knowing the Difference Will Save Your Life_ , when Brock Rumlow entered the lab looking for none other than Talia. Bill knew who he was, what he’d been, checked him from head to toe, met steely dark brown eyes…

And then went back to reading his manual.

Billy Russo had nothing to prove. He’d won the girl. She was his, and he was hers. Nothing was going to change that. Not some _dude_ and not her snobby ass sister.

So Maria Hill won that pool with a little help from Talia. They split the winnings. A cool grand for each of them. Talia spent her money on new stilettos that never left the townhouse. Actually, they never left their bedroom, but Billy sure did like ‘em.

 

 

Eventually, sometime in the sorta distant future, they got more new roommates. They’d been unexpected, but not unwelcomed, even if they were loud and demanding but absolutely terrifying when silent. The townhouse became just the right size. With a little room to grow.

There was also something about big, tough Marines who could take down inter-dimensional demons with knives alone, jumping out of bed at three in the morning to go feed or comfort their newborn baby girls.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the ride. Thanks for all the kudos and comments. Really, they are gold! I'm also a dork, so here's my [ Kastle playlist. ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ur0Kk0koo232JtWnMcTcY)


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